According to a recent UNICEF report, one-third of the children in the United States live in poverty. This is a shocking finding. The US ranks 36th out of 41 of the wealthiest countries in the world studied in the report. In comparison, the Norwegian countries only have 5.3 percent of their children in poverty.
More shocking is the fact that child poverty has increased by 2% since 2008 in the US according to the report. On the other hand, 18 countries actually saw a reduction in child poverty.
We are undoubtedly the richest nation in the world, so why are one-third of our children suffering in poverty? Much can be tied back to a portion of our population not being well educated, especially lacking proficiency in literacy. If a person lacks a good education, whether regular or vocational, and is unable to read proficiently, that person is unlikely to get a job that pays well. In my opinion, the ability to read proficiently is critical to every aspect of a child’s life and well-being. Hence, the main weapon to fight child poverty is literacy.