The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the UN Children's Fund Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNICEF-TACRO) jointly launched an online tool for measuring child poverty using a version of the "Bristol Indicators" specially adapted for the region, allowing for a direct, multidimensional measurement of child poverty with a human rights approach.
9 February 2012: The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the UN Children’s Fund Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNICEF-TACRO) launched an online multimedia tool intended to assist the region’s national statistical offices periodically measure child poverty.
The “Guide for Measuring Child Poverty” was officially released on 9 February 2012. The Guide uses a regional adaptation of the “Bristol Indicators” – the methodology for measuring child poverty developed in 2003 by UNICEF, the University of Bristol and London School of Economics. According to ECLAC and UNICEF-TACRO, it was necessary to adapt the Bristol Indicators for a direct, multidimensional measurement of child poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with a human rights approach.
The Guide, to be implemented through various modules, instructs users in how to: measure child poverty according to difference deprivations; calculate indices; analyze disparities; conduct simulations and present information in georeferenced form. It includes exercises, training videos and a complete bibliography. ECLAC and UNICEF will distribute a copy of the multimedia Guide to national statistical offices and agencies responsible for child policies, and encourage its use by academic and research institutions, NGOs and others active on child policy issues in LAC.
According to a 2010 study issued by ECLAC and UNICEF, nearly 45 percent of LAC population under age 18 are living in poverty. [ECLAC Press Release] [Publication: Guide for Measuring Child Poverty (Spanish)]