Designing a Child Poverty Measurement System for Rivers State

Child poverty measurement that captures deprivation across multiple dimensions is more informative than household income-based approaches for targeting child welfare interventions, and designing such a system for Rivers State provides a methodological tool for evidence-based child welfare policy in South South Nigeria. This study designed a multidimensional child poverty measurement system for Rivers State, drawing on review of UNICEF Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis, the Bristol approach to child poverty, and the NBS Child Poverty in Nigeria Report 2022. A professional design methodology was applied, incorporating consultations with 12 Rivers State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development officials, 8 child welfare NGO representatives, and 6 child poverty measurement specialists. The measurement system designed specifies seven child deprivation dimensions (nutrition, health, water, sanitation, education, housing, and information access), age-disaggregated deprivation thresholds calibrated to Rivers State service standards, a weighted composite Child Poverty Index, and survey data collection instruments compatible with the MICS household survey platform. Annual monitoring indicators and data source linkages to DHIS2, EMIS, and household surveys are specified. Expert review by nine child welfare and measurement specialists confirmed the system's methodological rigour. Recommendations include Rivers State Government funding the first application of the system in collaboration with UNICEF, using findings to target the state's School Feeding Programme, and publishing annual child poverty monitoring reports for public accountability.

Keywords: child poverty measurement, multidimensional poverty, Rivers State, UNICEF MODA, child welfare