One in six children living in extreme poverty: World Bank and UNICEF

News: World Bank Group and UN Children’s Fund(UNICEF) has released a report titled “Global Estimate of Children in Monetary Poverty”.

Facts:

Key Highlights from the report:

• An estimated 1 in 6 children globally lived in extreme poverty(surviving on less than $1.90 a day) before the pandemic and this is set to worsen significantly.
• Sub Saharan Africa accounts for two-thirds of children living in extreme poverty.South Asia accounts for nearly a fifth of these children.
• The number of children living in extreme poverty decreased between 2013-2017 by 29 million.

Recommendations: Governments should scale up and adjust their social protection systems and programmes to prepare for future shocks.This includes:

• Innovations for financial sustainability
• strengthening legal and institutional frameworks
• protecting human capital
• expanding child and family benefits such as paid parental leave and quality child care for all.

Additional Facts:

• UNICEF: It is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. Headquarters: New York City, US.