Productive & Resilient Livelihoods

The Issues

Around the world, the impact of extreme poverty on children’s development is devastating. This is most apparent when considering the relationship between child nutrition and economic wellbeing and vice versa.  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] Poor families face many challenges in their quest to provide a better future for their children. In particular, economic pressure can cause desperate people to resort to solutions that are not in the best interests of their children. These actions sometimes lead to early childhood marriage or other forms of child labour or exploitation.

Our Approach

World Vision is working to break the cycle of intergenerational 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.

Impact

World Vision measures our impact against key targets under SDGs 1, 2, 8 and 10 – adapted as follows:

• By 2030, extreme poverty, measured as people living on less than $1.90 a day is eradicated (SDG 1) and the incomes of the bottom 40% of households consistently grow at a rate higher than the national average (SDG 8 & 10).
• By 2030, all children and their families have access to safe and nutritious food all year around. (SDG 2)
• The resilience of people is built and their vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks is reduced (SDG 1).

Our global reach and focus on livelihoods is already enabling families to create lasting change in their own lives.

[1] ODI 2013: The Geography of Poverty, Disasters and Climate Extremes in 2030, ODI, Met Office, RMS Report, London. p. vii

For further information about our global livelihoods work,
connect with one of our experts, or contact us at livelihoods.wvi.org

Download our Livelihoods Fact Sheet