Paper short abstract:

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are the global goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 with the aim to improve the world we live in by 2030 in 17 different ways. Our notion of development draws on Sen’s view that the conception of development must go beyond wealth accumulation.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation addresses the goal number 1-No Poverty, by analyzing the public policies of the Argentinian State in the specific case of childhood. We follow Sen’ s concept of poverty (2000) when he said that poverty must be seen as the deprivation of basic needs rather than simply as a lack of income. The selection of this case is interesting because it is the only country in the Southern Cone of Latin America that is implementing social programs to face the drama of childhood hunger in an equally unique context of sustained growth in official poverty rates, previous the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, this presentation includes a brief reference to the national institutions dedicated to the protection of children's rights in the country.

The twenty-first century has seen the emergence of innovative public policy proposals based on human rights that allow an interaction and permanent adjustment in accordance with the situations and contexts in which people live. One of the key elements underpinning such proposals is the existence of an effective, efficient, and democratic social protection network, based on the development of social policies. In this connection, Sen (2000) defines the social-protection system of a country as the steady social-safety net, that is, the fixed institutional arrangements and ad-hoc aid provided by the government to citizens in emergency situations.

The policies analysed in this presentation are: the Universal Child Allowance for Social Protection (AUH) a monthly allowance paid to parents that are unemployed or that work in the informal economy, for each child under the age of 18 (no age limits apply in the case of children with disabilities) and the TA ( Feed Card) a card with funds for the purchase of foods to ensure access to the basic food basket for children of up to 14 years of age that receive the AUH, pregnant women from the third month of pregnancy, people with disabilities that are also beneficiaries of the AUH and mothers with seven children (or more) that receive some type of pension. The analysis shows that the TA program, focuses on the material dimension of poverty; while the AUH prioritizes attention on poverty of opportunity.

To conclude, we will point out that child poverty is multidimensional, and this implies considering children's priorities and experiences. In this sense, our challenge rests on Sen's idea that the construction of a democratic society requires the participation of citizens from childhood.