Save the Children and UNICEF is concerned about the increasing risk of children worldwide due to economic degradation caused by coronavirus infection pandemic.
The consequences of economic fallout due to the pandemic could lead up to 86 million more children into household poverty by the end of 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered an unprecedented socio-economic crisis that is draining resources for families all over the world,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
Save the Children and UNICEF warn that the impact of the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic and related containment policies is two-fold.
In Nepal, more than 1 in 3 children are stunted. It can be surmised that nearly 10 million children are estimated to be in poverty. The government has identified approximately 1.5 million households so far as being vulnerable. This figure is already more than 1/5th of all households in Nepal suggesting that large numbers of children are also vulnerable. These risks are likely to be exacerbated as Nepal’s economy weakens from the impact of COVID-19.
The analysis highlights that, without urgent action to protect families from the financial hardships caused by the pandemic, the total number of children living below the national poverty line in low- and middle-income countries could reach 672 million by year-end. Nearly two-thirds of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia– mentioned on the website.
“The shocking poverty impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic will hit children hard. Children are highly vulnerable to even short periods of hunger and malnutrition—potentially affecting them for their whole life. If we act now and decisively, we can prevent and contain the pandemic threat facing the poorest countries and some of the most vulnerable children. This report should be a wake-up call for the world. Poverty is not inevitable for children,” said Save the Children International CEO, Inger Ashing.
According to the World Bank, Nepal’s migrant workers sent home US$8.1 billion in 2018 making the country 19th largest remittance receiver in the world, most of which is spent on supporting families and children’s education.