It is the worst crisis that UNICEF has seen in its 75-year history, Covid is putting a strain on decades of progress on childhood. And if before the pandemic, about one billion children worldwide suffered from at least one severe deprivation, without access to education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water. Covid-19 has affected them to an unprecedented extent: “There are 100 million more children now living in multidimensional poverty due to the pandemic, a 10% increase from 2019. This corresponds to approximately 1.8 children every second since. mid-March 2020 “. Not only. According to the analysis, more than 23 million children have not been subjected to essential vaccinations, about 4 million more than in 2019. The highest figure in 11 years. But during the first year of the pandemic, one and a half billion students stayed home from school and this plunged them into the reality of child labor: now 160 million children are forced to work to help their families.
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“We are at a crossroads – he said bluntly Henrietta Fore, director general of Unicef who, publishing the analysis, launched an appeal to governments all over the world – The path to regain the lost ground is long and even in the best of cases, it will take seven to eight years to return to poverty levels pre-pandemic. We must keep children first for investments and last for cuts. “The data on the damage caused by the pandemic collected and analyzed by UNICEF were disclosed on the occasion of the anniversary of its foundation and over all numbers it prevails the consideration of how Covid is “threatening decades of progress on key childhood challenges such as poverty, health, access to education, nutrition, child protection and mental well-being”.
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In this regard, the effects caused by the closure of mental health services, which remained banned until October 2020 in 93% of countries around the world, are also clearly seen. Now, pathologies and mental illnesses affect more than 13% of adolescents between 10 and 19 years.
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All this reinforces inequalities: the gap between rich and poor children grows even more. According to the report, for example, the number of children involved in child labor has risen to 160 million – an increase of 8.4 million over the past four years. While another 9 million children are at risk of being pushed into child labor by the end of 2022 due to the increase in poverty triggered by the pandemic. But 50 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, and that figure could increase by 9 million by 2022 due to the impact of the pandemic on their diets, nutrition services and eating practices.
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“Throughout our history, UNICEF has contributed to creating healthier and safer environments for children around the world, with great results for millions of people – said Henrietta Fore – but now these results are at risk. the number of children who are hungry, out of school, abused, live in poverty or are forced to marry is increasing, the number of those with access to health care, vaccines, sufficient food and essential services is decreasing . In a year where we should be looking forward, we are going backwards. “
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In addition to the pandemic, the report warns of other threats that jeopardize their rights: wars. Globally, 426 million children – nearly 1 in 5 – live in areas where conflict is becoming increasingly intense and is affecting civilians heavily, disproportionately affecting children. Women and girls are the most exposed to the risk of conflict-related sexual violence. 80% of all humanitarian needs are conflict-driven. Likewise, an estimated 1 billion children – nearly half the world‘s children – live in countries that are at “extremely high risk” from the impacts of climate change. “In an age of global pandemics, escalating conflict and worsening of climate change, a child-centered approach is never more essential than today, “said Fore.
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The path to regaining the lost ground is long, explain the leaders of UNICEF. To respond, recover and reimagine the future of each child. These are their requests:
– investing in social protection, human capital and spending for an inclusive and resilient recovery;
– put an end to the pandemic and reverse the alarming decline in children’s health and nutrition – including by exploiting the role of UNICEF in the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine;
– rebuild more solidly by ensuring quality education, protection and good mental health for every child;
– building resilience to better prevent, respond and protect children from crises – including new approaches to end famines, protect children from climate change and reimagine spending on and disasters.
“In an era of global pandemics, growing conflicts and worsening climate change, a child-centered approach is never more essential than today – said Henrietta Fore – The promise of our future is set in the priorities we set in our present” he concluded. And the priority for building the future can only be children and the protection of their health.
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