Conditions of marginalization and exclusion

Avoiding the “double punishment”

The world’s population has never had so many young people. Nearly 90% of them live in developing countries, where they represent a significant proportion of the population. 17.5% of them live in extreme poverty*. Although progress has been made in recent years, poverty remains the main cause of violations of children’s rights. It increases the likelihood that these children and young people will become victims of violence, trauma, social exclusion, disease or food insecurity. Poverty is also a major determinant of mental health. It affects the lives of too many children and their carers. Commonly referred to as the “double punishment”, the cumulative effect of this extreme precariousness and global crises – whether health, security, political, ecological or economic – prejudices the ability of these young people to envisage the future to which they aspire.

Education, the cornerstone of development, is a factor of social cohesion that contributes to a safer, more sustainable world.

Sustainable Development Goal 4 – “quality education” – calls for a collective effort to ensure that every child and young person, especially the most marginalized, has access to education and training that corresponds to their needs and the context in which they live. By combining performance, innovation, inclusion and investment, education helps to reduce poverty, particularly in low-income countries. It enables the younger generation to develop a capacity for analysis and a range of knowledge and skills, opening up a host of professional and civic prospects and enabling them to play an active part in resolving current and future challenges.

Giving children and young people living in precarious conditions access to education and training is the very essence of ASED’s work.

*UN figures