Running Head: Child Poverty 1

Child Poverty; Evaluating a Case Study of Child Poverty in Burkina Faso

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Child Poverty

Article: Decomposing multidimensional child poverty and its drivers in the Mouhoun region of

Burkina Faso, West Africa. By Fonta et al., 2020

Poverty is primarily a lack of necessities [values of human dignity] like shelter, food, and

primary healthcare. Astonishingly, what may appear as a necessity to one person may not be a

necessity to another; hence poverty can be termed as “relative deprivation.” Child poverty is a

significant challenge even in developed countries like the United States and the United

Kingdom; however, poverty levels in Africa and Asia are higher compared to such countries.

Community development policies often devise policies to uplift the disadvantaged [dominated

the poverty category] whether in the urban or rural settings, majority or minority, neglected or

helped, among others. Various philosophical literature has tried to explain child poverty based on

a community’s dominant practices while reviewing the enshrined political, social, and economic

values. Poverty can be triggered by cultural belief systems, individual deficiencies,

discrimination, geographical disparities, and cyclical interdependencies.

Fonta et al. (2020) evaluate child poverty in Burkina Faso [a West African Country] with

particular scrutiny of the country’s Mouhoun region. The study aimed to establish the causes of

child poverty in children aged between 5 and 18 by examining over seven hundred and twenty-

two households. One of the philosophical literature applied in the study is the Alkire-Foster

methodology, a theory for measuring poverty using different indicators and dimensions. Also,

the Alkire-Foster theory can be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of a program and

target a given group as beneficiaries. The study group offered several advantages [reasons for

selection], including high prevalence of poverty, the population id dominated by young people,

and high rural-urban [visa vis] migration. The data used in the study was obtained from the
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findings of a previous project by the UNICEF evaluating child poverty in urban and rural

communities. According to Fonta et al. (2020), the study involved at least 81,818 children from

five communities [3 rural and two urban], albeit using a random sampling of households.

The study used questionnaires to gather data and characteristics of the household, the

mothers, and the children using standard questions adopted from UNICEF, National Living

Standard Survey Measurements (NLSS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICs) by Alkire

and Foster, and OPHI modules among others (Fonta et al. 2020). Similarly, data was digitized to

minimize errors using applications such as the Census and Survey Processing System (CSPro)

and SPSS Statistics for Windows. Based on the Alkire-Foster methodology, the study

incorporated 7-dimensions, namely education, nutrition, health, housing, water and sanitation,

and per capita income. For example, housing was evaluated based on the number of occupants

per room [ 4 or more, implying overcrowding], floor type, building materials used, and access to

electricity. Similarly, in terms of nutrition, children were evaluated based on the -2 standard

deviation from the body mass index (BMI) for age. Aspects such as family income were used in

the study because income influences family security and child growth and development [healthy

eating and access to good healthcare services].

The final results were evaluated using the Alkire-Foster methodology by considering the

instances [dimensions] a child is deprived of the basic needs. For instance, under the union

approach of Alkire-Foster theory, children deprived in one or more dimensions were considered

poor. In contrast, in the intersection approach, children deprived in all dimensions are classified

as poor. It implies that the first approach [union] cannot be used since, in one way or another, a

child might be deprived in one dimension; hence every child could be classified as poor. In

contrast, the second approach [intersection] could be conclusive, although it is unlikely to find a
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child whose needs have been addressed in all dimensions. This resulted in constructing an index

to gauge poverty by first identifying the poor. For this reason, the index provided the first cutoff

for deprivation and the second cutoff for poverty [the extent of deprivation to be considered

poor].

Some of the social aspects outlined in the study include gender, education, family size,

and population density. The family unit and family size are significant because they influence

how children are raised. For example, a child born in a family of 10 is unlikely to have the same

child benefits as the one born in a family of four. According to the study, income levels, albeit

low [70% are income deprived], favor small families over large families; the more significant the

family, the more the needs. Over 40% of the families included in the study are polygamous,

meaning that the region has a significant proportion of polygamous families. Similarly, gender

issue does not show a significant difference in poverty levels between the two genders, which

could mean gender equality in the community. It could mean that social constructions of

childhood in Burkina Faso are not primarily determined by age; instead, they are influenced by

society.

Another social aspect is education; the level of deprivation of education among the

different groups used in the study. According to the study, education deprivation was the highest

(84%), whereby children experience late enrollment, poor school attendance, and drop out. As

mentioned earlier, children from polygamous families are more prone to education deprivation

compared to monogamous and single-parent families. Also, monogamous families with more

than five family members residing in the rural areas were subjected to significant child poverty.

However, the study shows a stark contrast between children and adolescents, such that

adolescents tend to be independent and attend to educational services in a better manner.

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Besides, such data indicate that social constructions of adolescents are negatively construed

given that they can drive change in their lives and society.

Political aspects revolve around economics and the distribution of resources among the

people in a particular community. The distribution of resources affects the economy and

consequent wealth such that those deprived of resources often struggle in poverty as the wealth

gap widens. For instance, the study evaluated the access to water and sanitation based on the

availability of clean water and sanitation facilities. According to Fonta et al. (2020), poverty was

highest (91%) in areas with limited access to water and sanitation. Most families (90%) in the

region use water from the well, river, rainwater, and pond water for drinking, while a similar

percentage have no access to sanitation facilities such as toilets. Although such constructions of

childhood are conclusive, a different construction can be made to evaluate the safety of water

used, considering the impacts of dirty and unsafe water on human health.

Another political aspect outlined in the study is the environment, albeit not evaluated

directly. Most of the households portrayed in the study come from environments that do not

necessarily support the overall well-being of their people. For instance, people lack access to

clean water, while some defecate openly without worrying about the consequences of such

actions. Children born from these households find and grow up in harsh environments where

survival is the only concern. Also, the study suggests the general negligence of the government,

considering that its policies do little in uplifting the communities. For example, children enroll

late for educational services while school attendance is significantly low. If we make our

inferences on child poverty based on children from urban households, we are more likely to

provide positive constructions, thus ignoring the actual child poverty in the country. Besides,
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families in the urban centers have better access to education, health services, and sanitation than

rural families.

Considering the above socio-cultural and political circumstances surrounding child

poverty in Burkina Faso, we are more likely to offer differing constructions of childhood

poverty. For instance, the data from the study suggest that child poverty in Mouhoun is driven by

factors such as the number of family members, type of families [polygamous, monogamous, or

single], family illness, and income levels, and areas of residence. However, it is possible to have

a well-fed polygamous family whose children enjoy good education, nutrition, health, and access

to clean water and sanitation services. Besides, Fonta et al. (2020) explain that households living

in the urban areas with over seven family members are less likely to experience child poverty. In

contrast, children are more dependent on parents; hence children from low-income families [or

with no income] are more likely to suffer from child poverty.

In conclusion, childhood poverty in Burkina Faso is driven by many factors in the social,

cultural, and political components, including income levels, areas of residence, family size, and

environment. Although the sample group used in the study was obtained in one of the poorest

regions of Burkina Faso, the data shows a significant correlation with child poverty levels in the

country. Besides, the data suggests that the social constructions of childhood are sometimes

negatively interpreted, given that childhood cannot be taken as a distinct unit but as a part of a

family unit and hence cannot be evaluated independently. Parents play a role in child poverty

because they are responsible for providing essential services such as healthcare, education,

access to a clean environment, and good nutrition. Furthermore, child poverty explains the

conditions of a given family since the family is the most significant contributor to a child’s

growth and development.

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References

Fonta, CL., Yameogo, TB., Tinto, H., van Huysen T. ate al. (2020). Decomposing

multidimensional child poverty and its drivers in the Mouhoun region of Burkina Faso,

West Africa. BMC Public Health. 20 (149), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8254-3