Efforts to alleviate child poverty fall short

Eunice Lam

A report co-authored by the Society for Community Organization and the Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights highlights that the government has fallen short in its efforts to alleviate child poverty.

The latest annual report of the Civil Children's Ombudsman assessed the government's performance on children's rights across several areas over the past year, including social welfare, healthcare, education, poverty alleviation and the protection of new immigrant students.

The administration received a score of 26 out of 100 - marking the highest rating in two decades.

However, among about 10 indicators, the government received zero marks for failing to allow mainland mothers to reunite with their children in Hong Kong and for not eliminating discrimination against new immigrant families.

It received a passing score of five marks in two other categories, specifically housing policies and the management of child neglect cases.

SoCo deputy director Sze Lai-shan said the score reflects some progress in poverty alleviation. "While the government focuses on economic recovery, it must also prioritize children's rights in education and healthcare," Sze said.

Regarding the issue of wealth disparity, the government improved its score to four marks, up from zero in the previous report in 2023.

The committee said the government's new youth program, Strive and Rise, is assisting underprivileged secondary school students in planning for their futures, helping them to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

However, it said that only 4,000 children will benefit from this program, set to launch later this year, and called for an expansion of its quotas.

The report cited data from the Census and Statistics Department indicating that in 2023, the child poverty rate in the city reached 22.5 percent. Among the 950,000 children under 18, one in five lives in poverty.

It also detailed the experiences of children in impoverished conditions, including those who have lived in subdivided flats for seven years without relocation to public housing and families struggling to provide enough food for their children.

To address these challenges, the report recommends that authorities offer free breakfast and lunch to underprivileged students and provide rent subsidies or temporary housing for those living in substandard conditions.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com