Children, an important target group for the reduction of socioeconomic inequalities in health

Abstract

Children are an important group for interventions aimed at reducing health inequalities. First, there are large socioeconomic inequalities – and thus also health inequalities – among children. Child poverty, as measured by the proportion of children living in households with incomes less than half the average, ranges from less than 4 per cent in Sweden and Norway to about 20 per cent in the United Kingdom (UK) and Italy (1). In some countries, such as Germany, childhood poverty has increased dramatically in recent years (2). Second, childhood is a key life stage, with exposure to disadvantage in childhood having lasting effects on socioeconomic status and on health in adult life. Third, there is strong evidence that childhood health inequalities can be reduced. Finally, and underlining these three arguments, European countries are giving greater recognition to the right of all children to the best possible start in life, a right endorsed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (www.unicef.org/crc).