According to a study by UNICEF, the corona pandemic has plunged another 100 million children into poverty. The UN children’s organisation reported on Thursday that is ten percent more in two years than in 2019.
Even before the pandemic, one billion children worldwide had insufficient access to education, health care, housing, food, sanitation or clean water. Such a crisis has not occurred in the 75 years since UNICEF was founded.
“As the number of children who are starving, out of school, abused, living in poverty or forced to marry increases, the number of children with access to medical care, vaccines, adequate food and essential services is decreasing,” UNICEF said. CEO Henrietta Fore. At best, it will take seven to eight years to catch up in many areas.
During the corona pandemic, up to 1.6 billion children were sometimes out of school because of lockdowns. Nearly 80 percent of classes at school were cancelled last year. According to the latest estimates, 160 million minors should be working, an increase of 8.4 million in four years.
By the end of 2022, there is a risk that another 9 million minors will end up in child labour because they have to contribute to the livelihood of their families. Furthermore, by 2030, an additional 10 million girls could be subject to early marriage due to the poverty of their families.