On 18 November, the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty and the Impact Initiative hosted a ‘Child Poverty Research Day’ to discuss current evidence, knowledge gaps and ways forward for research helping to reduce child poverty. Despite massive poverty reduction in the past decades, child poverty remains an issue requiring urgent action. The day was filled with sharing of research findings as well discussions of knowledge gaps and ideas for ways forward on how research, policy and practice can come together towards seeking a solution for ending child poverty.

Hosted by the Impact Initiative, the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty Research Day brought together researchers on child poverty from around the world (including from ESRC/DFID grant holders). They day focused on the reduction of economic and non-economic forms child poverty. Given the diverse range of voices in the room, we asked the Coalition and ESRC/DfID grant holders, to finish off the statement: “Research for child poverty has to…?”

Fighting child poverty is necessary in order to reach Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG1): ‘End Poverty in all its form, everywhere’ by 2030. Across the world, one out of two people living in extreme poverty is a child. Children born and living in poverty are more likely to suffer from undernourishment, lack of access to school or health care and die before the age of five.

Dr Agata D’Addato, Senior Policy Coordinator, Eurochild highlights a number of key results in putting children at the heart of policy making and introduces the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty Research day which is taking place at the Institute of Development Studies, UK on on 18th November 2016.