The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe setback in the global effort to eradicate child poverty, leaving 333 million children in extreme poverty, according to a report released by UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) and the World Bank.
The report highlights that the pandemic has pushed child poverty rates 30 million higher than previously projected.
As a result, one in six children now lives on less than $2.15 a day.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell noted that escalating crises from the fallout of COVID-19, conflicts, climate change, and economic shocks have disrupted progress and left millions of children in extreme poverty.
Louis-Philippe Lavoie, the World Bank’s Global Director for Poverty and Equity, stated in a press release, “In a world where 333 million children are living in extreme poverty – deprived of the most basic necessities and denied the opportunities and hope they deserve – that is simply unacceptable.”
The report points out that 40% of children in Sub-Saharan Africa still live in extreme poverty, the highest percentage in the world. Various factors, including rapid population growth, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate-related disasters, have exacerbated child poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, while other regions have seen more stable trends.
The World Bank and UNICEF have called on countries worldwide to prioritize addressing child poverty and implement a range of measures, including expanding targeted cash transfer programs, to alleviate this dire situation.
