Since our founding in 2005, Equity for Children has pioneered its research and advocacy at The New School and promoted a global child rights agenda.
We’ve been small and nimble since the beginning in order to maximize our impact. Twenty years later, Equity for Children continues to foster academic discussion, drive policy change, and empower communities. Our multidimensional poverty lens, delivered through websites in English and Spanish, leverages academic research to provide practical tools for policymakers, students, academics, and
practitioners.
We are excited to celebrate this 20-year milestone as we work toward a more just and equitable future for all children. We have achieved so much because of our loyal donors’ support, for which we are deeply grateful.
Equity for Children continues to expose the structural injustices that shape child poverty, particularly for Latinx migrant families. 2025 is marked by debates about migration in the U.S. Since 2022, more than 229,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City, 70% from Latin America. More than 42,000 additional children have enrolled in public schools during this period. And they are living in temporary housing.
Equity for Children will not stand by idly:
Bridging Educational Inequalities for Migrant Families and Children in New York City is our study examining barriers facing newly arrived Latinx migrant children as they access the NYC public school system. In it, we take a mixed-method approach and use qualitative storytelling, interviews, and quantitative data analysis to provide insights that are valuable for policymakers, schools, and community organizations. The results will help improve academic success for migrant children by emphasizing educational equity, support services, and culturally responsive teaching practices.
Also in 2025, Equity for Children will release a new and innovative handbook for those
committed to fighting child poverty:
The Handbook on Child Poverty and Inequality (Edward Elgar Publishing Inc.), which I co-edited with my UNICEF Colleague Enrique Delamonica, highlights the narrow economic lens through which child poverty is often viewed. In 29 chapters by 40 experts in the field from around the world, we offer a nuanced, multi-dimensional approach rooted in child rights and child well-being. We bridge the gap between research and policy, challenging decision-makers to rethink interventions — not just economic relief but transformative, equity-driven strategies addressing the emotional, social, and structural dimensions of poverty. We shift the discourse, with policymakers and academics adopting a more integrated framework of well-being to tackle child poverty.
At the same time, we continue building on our 2024 work:
Equity for Children’s Latinx Project is featured in a podcast ROOM: A Sketchbook for Analytic Action. In short, deeply personal videos that turn statistics into human stories, 24 undocumented Latinx women in New York City share their migration journeys, struggles, and resilience, fostering an increased sense of belonging within the Latinx community and challenged harmful narratives about migration. The methodology demonstrates storytelling’s power to drive social change. Read more here.
At the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on the Implementation of the Eradication of Poverty, my remarks focus on systemic challenges faced by children and women living in poverty, who make up half the world’s 1.1 billion people. My recommendations address solving these inequities through top-down and bottom-up collaboration; giving voice and participation to diverse voices; developing inclusive public spaces; organizing community-driven social monitoring programs; and improving policy impact by knowledge-sharing. Read more here.
Our Harnessing Data: New Insights on Child Poverty & Environmental Change seminar, co-hosted by Equity for Children and the University of Gothenburg during the 79th UN General Assembly last September, marked a crucial step in redefining how we measure and address child poverty in the face of climate change. With over 100 attendees from academia and worldwide NGOs, we discussed how to measure the day-to-day realities of children facing environmental shocks. Integrating AI, satellite imagery, and geocoded data with traditional poverty metrics creates a more precise, actionable understanding of how climate disasters impact children’s well-being. Read the full report here.
As part of the MUNA (Municipalities United for Childhood and Adolescence) UNICEF Argentina lecture series, Equity for Children hosted the webinar “Public Spaces: Rights and Opportunities”, highlighting the importance of ensuring children’s access to public spaces as both a fundamental right and a means to foster social connections. The event brought together 120 attendees from municipalities across Argentina and neighboring countries, fostering a diverse exchange of perspectives. Equity for Children shared regional examples of child-friendly urban initiatives, from innovative urban design projects to participatory programs that actively engage children and adolescents in shaping their communities. Read more here.
Urban Inequalities: A Multidimensional and International Perspective is a publication that features a chapter authored by Alberto Minujin, who sheds light on the devastating impact of urban deprivation on children in Nigerian cities. Using data from the 2016 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, the chapter exposes the stark inequalities in health, education, and living conditions affecting millions of children in Kano and Lagos. With urbanization accelerating in Africa, this work underscores the urgent need for data-driven policies to address intra-urban disparities and ensure that every child, regardless of where they live, has a fair chance to thrive. The findings provide critical insight for policymakers and reinforce Equity for Children’s mission to advocate for the rights of vulnerable children in urban settings. Read more here.
Equity for Children co-hosted the book presentation of Whose Knowledge Is It? Emancipation, Merging of Knowledges, and the Fight Against Poverty by French NGO All Together in Dignity Fourth World, a compelling work that challenges the way knowledge is produced and used in the fight against poverty. This book is aligned with Equity for Children’s philosophy because it upends the traditional power dynamics of research, elevating the lived experiences of those in poverty as essential to shaping solutions, not just subjects of study. The impact of this methodology is profound, it legitimizes the expertise of those with firsthand experience, fosters ethical participatory research, and strengthens the bridge between academia and grass roots organizations. Read more here.
Over 20 years, I’ve proudly worked with a superlative team to develop data-driven solutions that are rooted in working on the intersectionality of poverty, inclusion, migration, environmental or health crises, and child participation. As we move forward, I thank you for your partnership. We still have much work ahead.
Alberto Minujin
Executive Director
