Policy advocacy and partnerships for children's rights

Global economic crisis and children

© UNICEF/NYHQ2002-0674/d'Elbee

The current global economic crisis threatens to undo many of the world’s recent gains in child survival and well-being. Countries on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals could fall behind, while those that were struggling to advance could be left even worse off. The crisis threatens both the resources of families as well as national budgets, creating serious challenges to the fulfillment of children’s and women’s rights.

This creates not only an immediate emergency for today’s children, but also presents a risk of impoverishing future generations. Past crises have shown the degree to which children are vulnerable to economic recessions, as they can be removed from school to work or care for family or suffer undernutrition as food becomes more scarce. These situations, even if only temporary, can often have a permanent impact on a child’s development and future potential.

Now that we have experience from previous economic crises to build on, the impact of the current global recession on children and future generations can be mitigated. By carefully monitoring the impact of the crisis and maintaining social spending with a focus on children, we can learn from the past and protect children’s rights when they are most at risk.