Poverty and Children Poverty and Children Lessons of the 90s for Least Developed Countries

The decade of the 1990s returned a mixed score card for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Overall, the LDCs recorded only modest progress, but there were some encouraging experiences in social development and economic integration. The Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries to be held in May 2001 in Brussels presents an opportunity to review these experiences and agree on strategies to build on lessons learnt to accelerate the fight against poverty. These strategies must be centred on the realization of the rights of children. Increased investment in children should occur in the context of administrative and legal reforms to support childfriendly initiatives, greater participation of people in social and economic activities and enhanced access of populations to the means of production and micro-credit. Specific emphasis must be placed on educating girls. There is overwhelming evidence that educated girls grow up to make decisions that reduce poverty in their own lives and the lives of their children. Giving girls a head start will contribute to long-term economic growth and poverty reduction. If children represent the exit door from poverty