What Children and Young People are Saying about Poverty in Tanzania

This report is the result of children and young people’s consultations carried out by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and children/youth groups in Tanzania during the review process of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) II. The report is a compilation of responses from young people, collected by the Tanzania Movement for and with Children (TMC) Secretariat, which aims to share the views and opinions of children and young people, including those who are marginalised. The consultations were conducted mainly by organisations working on implementation, monitoring, policy and advocacy around children’s rights in Tanzania.

This report is divided into three main parts:

Part One: Outlines the Process - why this report, the scope of the consultations, and who did what, where and when. It also describes the challenges faced during the exercise.

Part Two: What Children and Young People are Saying - shares the outcomes and responses during the consultations with children. It discusses ideas of what needs to be incorporated in the PRS II and what young people say about the assessment of what has been done in the PRS over the preceding three years. It also explores what worked well and the challenges, and provides suggestions from children about actions to make their lives better.

Part Three: Investing in Children - briefly describes the need to invest more in children as a primary approach in breaking the cycle of economic poverty.

This report has been compiled primarily for staff working for NGOs and their partners, United Nations organisations, donors, government and interested parties who want to make a difference in the poverty life of a child. It aims to:

• provide an overview of the issues raised by children and young people about poverty in Tanzania;
• be a tool to share and advocate for and with children and young people in breaking the cycle of poverty;
• provide a check-list of children and young people issues in the life cycle of the PRS II; and
• share experiences of what is happening, lessons learned, and challenges in involving children and young people in the PRS processes.