Logo Pacte pour les Premiers Pas

In 2021, Break Poverty Foundation had already observed the following: more than 300,000 children between 0 and 3 years old are living in situations of food and hygienic deprivation in our country, a situation worsened by the health crisis and the inflation we have been experiencing for over a year. Today, the most vulnerable among them depend on food aid to survive and thrive. 

However, everything starts from the first steps! The first 1,000 days are crucial in a child’s life. A lack of care and inadequate nutrition can have serious and lasting consequences on their future development, reminding us that it is essential to act as early as possible so that everyone can have a safe and equal start in life. 

To address this urgency, the Ministry of Solidarity and Health launched the operation to combat child poverty “First Steps Pact”, supported by a public grant of over 6 million euros. The objective is to provide concrete material assistance to all families who need it most today. 

Focusing on hygiene, Break Poverty Foundation, Agence du Don en Nature, and Dons Solidaires are joining forces to collect millions of hygiene products (diapers, wipes, cleansing and care products) and distribute them throughout France. 

Our challenge? To meet the hygiene needs of 100,000 newborns affected by poverty.

How? By creating a wave of solidarity around this cause, mobilizing businesses, associations, and government agencies.

Together, let’s help children grow, not poverty. 

Initiated by :

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One in six parents reports not being able to change their baby’s diapers as much as they would like, according to a barometer published by IFOP and Dons Solidaires in 2023.

“25% increase in diaper prices soon,” according to the CEO of Système U.

Given the urgency of the situation and the scale of the needs of 300,000 underprivileged families, Break Poverty is proud to be coordinating this large-scale operation so that every mother can feed and care for her child to the best of her ability.

Valérie Daher, Executive Director of Break Poverty Foundation

The need for a massive mobilisation

The launch of the “First Steps Pact”, part of the Solidarity Pact, was announced by Minister Aurore Bergé during a visit to the Itiner’air association in Beauvais on 17 October 2023, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Products were distributed at the association’s facilities, followed by a discussion between the Minister and the families who attended.

In an inflationary context where the budget for nappies and infant milk is exploding (around €3,600 over the first 3 years of a child's life), the ``First Steps Pact`` is a necessary aid for the most disadvantaged. Nappies (along with washing powder) are the products for which we had the most difficulty meeting demand.

Itiner'air Association

To ensure the success of the operation, it is vital that companies in the early childhood sector get involved to enable Break Poverty Foundation, Agence du Don en Nature and Dons Solidaires to obtain these products at low prices or free of charge. In the same way as Procter & Gamble and L’Oréal, the commitment of industrialists alongside the State and associations demonstrates the desire to create a common surge of solidarity in favour of the most disadvantaged by mobilising all forces around this objective.

Operators

With the support of the Ministry of Solidarity and Families, Break Poverty Foundation, Agence du Don en Nature, and Dons Solidaires are leading the ‘First Steps Pact’ operation to urgently distribute essential hygiene products crucial for the proper development of infants in precarious situations.

Break Poverty Foundation is a humanitarian organisation that fights poverty by acting on its causes. Its ambition is to eliminate social determinism from the earliest age, to fight poverty in the long term and to build a world where poor children do not become poor adults.

Since 2008, L’Agence du Don en Nature has been tackling material deprivation by collecting new non-food products from companies and redistributing them to associations serving disadvantaged groups (social and community grocery shops, child protection establishments, shelters, day centres, etc.). In 2022, 10 million products (hygiene, childcare, cleaning, clothing, supplies, toys, household equipment, etc.) were distributed to more than 1,600 charitable organisations throughout France.

Since 2004, Dons Solidaires, a pioneering non-food charity recognised as being in the public interest, has been mobilising a chain of solidarity to ensure that goods are shared more responsibly. To fight precariousness in France, it collects new non-food products from companies and redistributes them to solidarity structures to enable vulnerable people to live with decency.