Mapping of Child Well-being in Saint Lucia

This report presents the results of an assessment of child well-being and deprivations in Saint Lucia. Following a comprehensive literature review on human development and child rights, a multi-dimensional measure of child well being for Saint Lucia was compiled. This measure allows comparison of child well-being across various dimensions and socio-demographic decompositions. Conducting this assessment of child well-being and deprivations is entirely based on an analysis of Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 4 (MICS4) data. The analysis contains an evaluation of five different dimensions of child well-being, including material well-being, health and nutrition, education, child protection and access to information. Additionally, the report assesses overall child well-being in Saint Lucia. With regards to material well-being, results of the analysis showed that the average child in Saint Lucia is worse off than the average adult, especially those living in rural areas, large households and households headed by a single adult. Also, children living in female-headed households tend to be more frequently materially deprived compared to their counterparts living in male-headed households. Analysis of child well-being in the health and nutrition dimension revealed that approximately 5 per cent of Saint Lucian children are undernourished, with girls on average being better nourished than boys, and children in male-headed households being better nourished than those in female-headed households. Detailed analysis with respect to immunization of children was not possible due to the fact that MICS4 data do not contain this information. Regarding education, the analysis reviewed different educational stages separately, including pre-school education, primary education, secondary education and education from the age of 17 years onwards. Children from male-headed households are more likely to be enrolled in preschool education than children in female-headed households, as are children in smaller-sized households. Almost all children in Saint Lucia seem to attend primary school education, whereas attendance rates are considerably lower for secondary school, particularly for children living in large households. After the age of 17 years, only 54.6 per cent of children are attending some level of schooling. Children’s access to information is high; 97.4 per cent of all children have access to a TV, phone, radio or computer. With regards to child protection in Saint Lucia, on the other hand, the average well-being rate has room for improvement. This is particularly because corporal punishment seems to be widely accepted as a method to restore discipline: 40 per cent of children are subject to a harsh discipline at home. All in all, the overall average child well-being rate in Saint Lucia amounts to 66.1 per cent, signifying that 2 out of 3 children are well-off (i.e. in all but one dimension). As noted in the limitations of this chapter, one needs to keep in mind that - from a human rights perspective - for a child to be truly well-off she/he should be well in all dimensions. Taking this approach would result in a lower overall child well-being rate in Saint Lucia than the one noted above. Improvement in the overall child well-being rate could, amongst other interventions, be achieved through improvements in the domains of child protection and sanitation facilities, especially in rural areas. Children living in large families and those living with a single adult also deserve extra attention since these children are frequently comparably worse off. [Download full report].