Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not being able to go to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.

When we think about poverty and demographics, we tend to think about statistics and numbers. But while projections are necessary for planning and effective policy-making, we must look beyond the numbers to a vision of the future. We must realize that behind each number is a person with his/her own needs and aspirations. While there is much concern, rightly so, about water and food resources in our country, there is another vital resource that deserves increased attention, and that is our young people. Young people see the failure of national systems to meet their growing aspirations to have options in their lives, to meet their immediate needs in health, education and employment, to democratize society and to establish a viable and enabling environment for participation and assurances for human rights.

Images of what a quality life should be are projected daily on our television screens at home and in the public places. But these images prove to be illusions to the young people. They add to their frustrations because they know they will never be able to attain anything near that life. Young generation now are living in an environment in which despair, loss of identity, exclusion and poverty prevail. The young people, by nature, are idealistic and they have very sensitive antennae that pick up messages of inequality and double standards. They see social injustice and economic inequality in their own societies as well as among countries and regions of the world. They see a world where the rich and the powerful, nationally and globally, determine the fate of the poor and deprive them of opportunities to live in an enabling environment that opens doors of the present and the future for them. The much talked about negative impact of globalization is what they see and thus they resist it and even fight it.

Experiences of poverty, hardships, discrimination, abuse, complexes and that not at the very onset of their lives have an adverse impact on their personality and therefore give rise to terrorists, thieves, murderers and beggars. Whatever the reason may be for such deplorable conditions of children, it is however the responsibility of each and every one of us to help these misfortunate children. The child labor is an outcome of poverty. This menace is very common in under developed countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Egypt and Gulf States. Child labor needs to be removed from its roots, which have been burrowed deep down. In fighting child labor each and every one needs to put his/her share and help the government and other agencies. Education plays an important role everywhere; however large families, unemployment, poverty too play an important role.

A person is considered poor if his or her consumption or income level falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the "poverty line". When estimating poverty worldwide, the same reference poverty line has to be used, and expressed in a common unit across countries. Therefore, for the purpose of global aggregation and comparison, the World Bank uses reference lines set at $1 and $2 per day in 1993 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms (where PPPs measure the relative purchasing power of currencies across countries). It has been estimated that in 1998, 1.2 billion people world-wide had consumption levels below $1 a day - 24 percent of the population of the developing world and 2.8 billion lived on less than $2 a day. These figures are lower than earlier estimates, indicating that some progress has taken place, but they still remain too high in terms of human suffering, and much more remains to be done.

Almost half a billion young people aged 15 to 24 years, according to world population estimates for 2000, live in low-income countries, representing nearly half (46 percent) of all young people in this age group in the world. A further third of all young people aged 15 to 24 years (34 percent) live in lower middle-income countries, as defined by the World Bank. Only 11 percent of young people in this age group in 2000 live in high-income countries. In terms of the relative share of the population, young people account for a fifth (20 percent) of the population in low-income countries but only 13 percent of the population in high income countries. The following table shows the world population classified by income level of country, total youth age 15-24 years and youth share of the total population:

According to the World Development Indicator, World Bank April 2002, the eleven countries with the largest concentration of youth below the poverty lines are: India (44.2%), China (18.8%), Nigeria (70.2%), Pakistan (31.0%), Bangladesh (29.1%), Congo (66.6%), Vietnam (37.0 %), Brazil (11.6 %), Ethiopia (31.3%), Indonesia (7.7%) and Mexico (15.9%).

In Pakistan, poverty persists due to social and economic stratification. Measured in economic terms, the poverty line is defined in Pakistan on the basis of income that can provide daily intake of 2250 calories per person, according to which the incidence of poverty has been estimated as 32.6% of the population in 1998-99. The poverty trend shows that there has been an increase in poverty over the last three decades. In absolute terms the number of poor people that cannot meet their daily nutritional requirements and fall below the poverty line are estimated at 43.9 million.

Poverty standards though vary from country to country, in no case are comparable with poverty in Pakistan. The poverty situation in every country whether developing or developed affects the development and growth of younger generation. In a country like Pakistan, poverty ridden children netter the labor market with low paid jobs and longer working hours whereas in developed countries they adopt different professions, comparatively with better working conditions due to overall economic situation. The widening gap between the rich and the poor globally however is creating a serious problem for children everywhere.

In the global comparison the developing countries are in a most difficult situation. Their struggle requires multiple approaches and extra efforts. Children in the developing countries can improve their situation only if action plans concentrate on family empowerment, spread of education and vocational training in multiple trades. In the wake of changing technologies, the task of the developing countries is more complex. Efforts to eliminate child labor from the employment market alone cannot resolve the issue. Measures are required to control population growth, expand industrial base, enhance productivity and generate employment avenues for the adults including females.

The other factor, which severely affects the child labor profile in terms of pace of economic growth, is the increasing fiscal deficit. The resolution of child labor issue, therefore, does not rest in an isolated action by the government or international organizations like ILO alone but the world's financial institutions like IMF and World Bank can assist the developing countries in coming out of the poverty situations and developing the economy. These organizations must look at child labor perspective holistically from a human angle and treat developing countries with special social consideration. These organizations must also come forward to help enhance educational opportunities both technical as well as non-technical. The objective is to motivate these countries to be competitive with regard to educational levels and technical know how. This requires not only the education for all children without discrimination but also helping the entire population to direct the younger generation and the youth to learn skills and acquire education to be productive.