Economic Development

Productive & Resilient Livelihoods

Around the world, the impact of extreme poverty on children’s development is devastating.  Approximately 356 million children – 1 in 6 children – are living in extreme poverty with less than $1.90 a day. 

Child poverty has lifelong consequences on their overall wellbeing such as poor psychosocial and physical health, malnutrition, lack of education, social exclusion, and future employment opportunities. Children’s exposure to violence, such as child labour and child marriage may increase as families and caregivers are under economic duress.  

It could be further compounded according to predictions that, over the next decade, climate and disaster risk impacts will push an estimated 325 million poor people further into extreme poverty in some of the poorest and most fragile contexts.[1] 

World Vision is working to break the cycle of poverty by 2030 so that the most vulnerable children can reach their full potential. We do this by:

• Graduating the most vulnerable families out of extreme poverty – so that very poor families become economically self-reliant and have the dignity and means to provide for their own children.
• Strengthening food production, resilience and access to markets / financial services – so that farmers can produce more, better and more sustainable nutritious food for household consumption and marketing purposes.
• Promoting sustainable employment opportunities and market systems – so that communities have access to goods, services and employment opportunities through private sector partnerships.
• Promoting women’s economic empowerment – so that through  women's economic advancement, access to opportunities, services, and resources, and agency, including decision-making ability in households and markets, manageable paid and unpaid workloads, and well-being. Finally, World Vision promotes equitable systems where women can benefit from equitable policies, laws, institutional practices, and social norms.

Learn more about World Vision's Livelihoods programmatic approaches,
visit our Livelihoods Technical Library,
or contact us at livelihoods@wvi.org.