Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Child poverty is one of the greatest threats to children's rights and a key determinant of health, with long-lasting effects due to the vulnerability of minors, who depend on adults for care. Beyond the lack of basic resources, it has a negative impact on physical and emotional development and educational outcomes, perpetuating social inequality. The UN advocates for the use multidimensional measures of child poverty including health, education, housing and social participation. Child poverty limits social mobility and reduces productivity. In Spain, its cost was 4.1% of the GDP in 2023, with 30.3% of children and adolescents at risk of poverty or social exclusion, especially in single-parent households and large families. Pediatricians should integrate psychosocial assessment in their routine clinical practice and encourage multidisciplinary collaboration, which should be reflected in specialist training programs. Investing in children is not only an ethical responsibility, but a crucial strategy for the sustainable and equitable development of a country.
DOI: 10.60147/32f57c0f
Author: Raquel Páez
Institution: Asociación Española de Pediatría
Language: English
Topic: Child and Adolescent Health
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4409088014