Child Poverty in Zimbabwe

A Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis

This report presents the multidimensional child deprivation analysis for Zimbabwe, applying the Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA) methodology that measures various aspects of child poverty. The data used for this analysis was collected by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), through the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), in 2019. The analysis takes the child as the unit of analysis and applied a life-cycle approach in the selection of dimensions and indicators to capture the different deprivations children experience at different stages of their life.

Like many countries in Africa, Zimbabwe has a relatively young and rapidly growing population. At the national level, 79 per cent of all households have at least one child under the age of 18 and 53 per cent have at least one child under the age of five (MICS6, 2019). Among Zimbabwean children, 61 per cent are income poor and 36 per cent are food poor, with children living in rural areas experiencing higher levels of poverty (MICS6, 2019). This means there is a strong need to understand the complexity of child poverty and address child vulnerabilities. This report describes the multiple and overlapping deprivations facing children in Zimbabwe in order to better inform policies and implement adequate interventions.

The report builds on a multidimensional child poverty study carried out in 2016 in the country (UNICEF Zimbabwe, 2016) and aims to monitor and evaluate the progress in achieving development for children as per the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1.2. The objective of SDG 1.2 is to reduce at least by half the proportion of children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions

The objective of the report is to present Child Poverty in Zimbabwe using a direct method of child poverty measurement which analyses deprivations experienced by the child. The report goes beyond mere deprivation rates and identifies the depth of child poverty by analyzing the extent to which the different deprivations are experienced simultaneously – multiple / overlapping deprivations. In this analysis, Child Poverty is defined as non-fulfilment of children’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation, anchored in the United Nation’s Conventionon the Rights of the Child.

Access the report and brief: UNICEF Zimbabwe