Childhood and youth

Children and youth represent the future productive capital of any country, and a recognition of their distinct needs and rights is essential for effective development.

ODI research on childhood and youth challenges conventional assumptions that child wellbeing is simply a product of good policy making, often around such basic services as health and education. Instead, our work places children at the centre of analysis, to consider ways in which children and their families can move out of poverty and stay out. We consider:

• The importance of rights, including protection from violence, abuse or discrimination (because of their gender or ethnicity, for example). This requires greater attention the right of children to participate in the decisions that affects them, and increased attention to child rights in aid programmes.
• How macro-economic, political and environmental contexts and policies affect the wellbeing of children and young people.
• The role ofsocial protection – from asset and cash transfers to public work programmes and health protection – in mitigating economic and social vulnerabilities.
• How to mainstream childhood studies into the development discourse, and develop an understanding of the role of knowledge in policy-making.