Peer-reviewed article

PROTOCOL: Megamap of systematic reviews and evidence and gap maps on the effectiveness of interventions to improve child well-being in low- and middle-income countries

Ashrita Saran, Kerry Albright, Jill Adona, Howard White · 10 Oct 2019

Abstract

Child well-being is a multidimensional and a holistic concept which provides a contextual understanding of a child in different domains such as health, material well-being, education, conditions of housing and environment, and interpersonal relations (UNICEF, 2014).A decent level of child well-being is underpinned by the Declaration of the Rights of the Child which states that "The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth" (Cohen, 1989).But many children around the world still suffer deficiencies in many dimensions of well-being. | Aspects of shortfalls in child well-beingOne in three children (200 million globally) fails to reach their full physical, cognitive, psychological and/or socioemotional potential due to poverty, poor health and nutrition, insufficient care, stimulation and other risk factors to early childhood development (Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007).It is estimated that globally, almost 385 million children are living in extreme poverty.Poverty, malnutrition, poor health, unstimulating home environments and violence against children are major risk factors, which detrimentally affect the cognitive, motor and social-emotional development of children (Tran, Luchters & Fisher, 2017).Preterm birth complications, acute respiratory infections, intrapartum-related complications, congenital anomalies and diarrhoea are the main factors continuing causes of high numbers of under-five deaths (WHO, 2019).Further adding to the plight of children in developing countries, young girls and adolescent women are invariably subjected to various forms of harmful practices including child marriage and female genital mutilation.Close to 300 million (3 in 4) children aged 2 to 4 worldwide experience violent discipline by their caregivers on a regular basis and approximately 250 million (around 6 in 10) are punished by physical means.Recent estimates of ILO show that Asia and the Pacific still has the largest numbers of child labour (almost 78 million or 9.3% of child population), but sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labour (59 million children which is over 21% of all children; ILO, 2013).In 2017, four African nations (Mali, Benin, Chad and Guinea-Bissau) witnessed over 50% of children aged 5-14 working (UNICEF, 2017).The worst form of child labour lead to severe exploitation of children including impact on physical, mental and moral and social development of children (ILO, 2013).Education offers children a path to a promising future but about 264 million children and adolescents around the world fail to enter or complete school.They are thwarted by poverty, discrimination, armed conflict, emergencies and the effects of climate change (UNICEF, 1998) Often the family and environmental risk factors a child experiences are beyond the control.Though the effects of these factors can be moderated and this is where opportunities to promote children's positive mental health and wellbeing lie.-------