London protesters targeting child poverty

LONDON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Organizers of a protest in London Saturday say they want child poverty to become a thing of the past in the United Kingdom.

Campaign to End Child Poverty Director Hilary Fisher said hundreds of people gathered in London to bring media and public attention to the growing problem of child poverty throughout the nation, the BBC reported.

"Poverty has an impact on every aspect of a child's life, health, education and well-being," Fisher said.

"Now is the time for the government to turn their commitment into reality and provide that investment which will make that change."

The campaign group, which is made up of 120 organizations, released a report this week detailing how 5,559,000 children throughout the United Kingdom are in poor families.

The BBC said Prime Minister Gordon Brown has met with the group's leaders and reiterated his position that child poverty in Britain, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland should be abolished through governmental efforts by 2020.