An innovative method for measuring poverty, applied by the Executive Directorate of Human Rights (DeDH) at Unicamp, was one of the main highlights of an event held at UNICEF headquarters (United Nations Children's Fund) to discuss the measurement of child poverty. The meeting took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in the second half of August.
Instead of defining poverty solely by technical criteria or income lines set by economists and governments, the method uses what is called multidimensional measurement – in which the population is consulted through surveys and focus groups – to identify which goods, services, and living conditions are considered "necessary" and which "no one should be deprived of due to lack of money." In this way, poverty is understood as the inability to achieve the minimum standard of living consensually accepted by the community itself.
The Department of Human Rights at Unicamp, in conjunction with research centers and international and national partners, such as Cardiff University, with Professor Shailen Nandy, and the Faculty of Education at Unicamp, with Professor Ana Elisa Spaolonzi Queiroz Assis, has been a central hub for discussion and application of this methodology in Brazil.
The director of DeDH, Elisdete Maria Santos de Jesus, says that the invitation to join the forum came from Cardiff University, a strategic partner of Unicamp, and UNICEF/Tanzania. For Jesus, this represents recognition of the pioneering work of the Brazilian university in promoting and protecting human rights.
Ambassador
The meeting also included the presence of the Brazilian ambassador to Tanzania, Gustavo Martins Nogueira. According to the director, the diplomat requested a meeting with representatives from Unicamp to deepen their understanding of DeDH's activities and discuss how the university's experience can serve as a benchmark for public bodies and assistance policies in East Africa.
The Unicamp team – which also included DEDH members Luis Renato Vedovato and Carla Cristina Barbosa Pereira – presented the University's actions in the field of Human Rights to representatives from Tanzania and Uganda. Details of the research on measuring vulnerabilities and deprivations were shown, encompassing aspects of multidimensional child poverty and extending to the protection of minorities, carried out through the DeDH with the support of advisory committees.
“With this mission, DeDH not only fulfills its role of guiding the community in human rights, but also establishes pathways for future collaborations in research focused on social justice and equity,” said the director. “Our expectation is that the methodologies developed at Unicamp will continue to positively influence relevant actors on the African continent, strengthening the connection between academic rigor and direct social impact,” she concluded.
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Tanzania strengthens child poverty measurement to inform better policies for children
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