crisis, there is a historical opportunity to expand social protection in
developing countries.
Timo Voipio, in “Social Protection for All: An Agenda for Pro-Child
Growth and Child Rights,” argues that the single most remarkable shift
in the global poverty reduction agenda of this new Millennium is
the emergence of social protection as a top priority for most
international organizations and development agencies. Furthermore,
he explains why a social protection floor is a key element of pro-
poor inclusive growth, and discusses how this relates to child rights.
Directly linked to the crisis and social protection, Nora Lustig’s
“Rising Food Prices and Children’s Welfare” raises alarm on how world
prices of food commodities have risen over the past few years and
are a cause of major concern because high food prices bring
significant and immediate setbacks for poverty reduction, nutrition,
social stability, inflation and a rules-based trading system. Food
prices are unique since food is unlike any other good. Food is
essential for survival; it is the most basic of basic needs. Available
evidence suggests that in the majority of countries, an increase in
food prices is likely to result in an increase in overall poverty. The
appropriate policy response is to have a package of social protection
programs to help those who get hurt.
Other contributors to this volume called attention to specific, but
fundamental issues, that need to be addressed for an equitable
agenda for children. Paul Collier, in “The Plundered Planet and The
Bottom Billion: Why the mismanagement of nature matters for the world’s most
vulnerable,” discusses the main findings of his recent publication The
Plundered Planet as well as some of the ideas from his previous
publication The Bottom Billion, and explains who the world's most
vulnerable are and why, and how the mismanagement of nature
matters for these populations.