Poor families often live on the margins of survival, unable to provide for basic human needs and vulnerable to economic shocks.  Children are at high risk in these situations and in times of economic emergency the risks are accelerated since often children are taken out of school to earn money to contribute to the household economy. Without the necessary education, children are far more likely to be poor when they are adults, creating a vicious cycle. Household Economic Security (HES) recognizes that income is necessary for families to fulfill the responsibility of providing what is needed (food, shelter, water, education, health care) to ensure survival and development of children.  Furthermore, in order to further protect children, and to have any chance of working their way out of poverty, families must also be able to build up resiliency to withstand an economic shock or disaster.  Looking to the future, children and youth have the right to be prepared with skills and knowledge necessary for livelihood and to ensure economic self sufficiency in order to break the cycle of poverty.  Therefore, Plan prioritizes its work on:

• Focusing programme efforts on the poorest families and marginalised communities, and within them women, children and youth.
  
  
• Facilitating access to appropriate financial services, especially for women and youth.
  
  
• Linking youth with education and training that builds knowledge and skills needed for sustainable livelihoods and economic empowerment.
  
  
• Supporting families to cope with the risks and economic shocks such as in disaster situations.



• Protecting children from hazardous labour exploitation.