Why The Failure Is Not Neutral
It is tempting to believe that doing nothing simply leaves the situation unchanged. But in the context of child suffering, inaction is not harmless — it has consequences.
Silence does not protect children — it protects the conditions that harm them
By failing to act, global society effectively accepts a world in which a child’s chance of survival is determined not by their potential, but by the economic conditions into which they are born. A child in a wealthy country may be rushed to the emergency room for a treatable illness; a child in a poor country may die from the same illness at home because treatment is financially impossible. Ignoring these inequalities does not make them disappear — it reinforces them.
Inaction also strengthens the systems that create and benefit from inequality. The global supply chain relies on low-wage work in many regions, and child labour becomes a survival strategy when parents have no alternatives. When consumers, corporations or governments choose not to challenge these systems, they quietly enable them. As the anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu warned: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
It is also vital to recognise that the lack of intervention affects global stability. Regions with high rates of child mortality and low school attendance are more likely to experience conflict, economic collapse and forced migration. The suffering of children today shapes the geopolitical crises of tomorrow. Inaction does not preserve peace — it undermines it.
Furthermore, when the world fails to invest in children’s health, nutrition and education, poverty becomes cyclical and generational. A child who is malnourished is more likely to drop out of school, experience lifelong health problems and become economically disadvantaged in adulthood. Their own children are then born into the same circumstances. That cycle continues not by destiny, but by neglect.
Children do not have the means to advocate for themselves. They cannot change laws, influence funding priorities or demand justice. When adults look away, the most vulnerable are left alone.