09 Декабрь 2021
Preventing a lost decade
https://www.unicef.org/eca/reports/preventing-lost-decade
PREVENTING A LOST DECADEUrgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people For 75 years, UNICEF has delivered for children. From armed conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises to long-term survival and development programmes, our staff and partners have been on the ground working to provide essential services for those in need. Through the decades, UNICEF has helped to develop healthier and safer environments for children and their families. Take one example vaccines. In the 1980s, UNICEF and partners embarked on a bold mission to immunize every child against preventable diseases. Together with governments, we facilitated one of the greatest logistical mobilizations in peacetime history. By the early 1990s, global childhood immunization levels reached 80 per cent. Before the pandemic, we had made great strides toward helping all children realize their right to health, education and protection. At the start of 2020, more children were living to see their first birthday than at any time in history. Child mortality had fallen by 50 per cent since 2000. Maternal mortality and child marriages were on the decline and more girls were going to and staying in school than ever before. Yet multiple crises are now threatening those hard-fought gains for children. The COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest threat to children in our 75-year history. While the number of children who are hungry, out of school, abused, living in poverty or forced into marriage is going up, the number of children with access to health care, vaccines, sufficient food and essential services is going down. The COVID-19 pandemic, a worsening climate crisis, armed conflict, displacement and other humanitarian emergencies are depriving children of their health and well-being. These developments portend an even more challenging future a future in which the world could fall short of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, reduce inequality and build more peaceful, prosperous societies by 2030. In September, UN-Secretary General Guterres laid out the stakes to an audience of world leaders: I am here to sound the alarm. The world must wake up. We are on the edge of an abyss and moving in the wrong direction. FOREWORD The world stands at a crossroads. We have a decision to make. Do we rally and unite to protect years of progress on child rights? Or do we allow the unequal recovery from COVID-19 to further marginalize the disadvantaged and increase inequality even more? UNICEF was created at another moment of crisis. Much of the world lay in ruins following years of war. Then, as now, marginalized and vulnerable children were most affected. In this context, UNICEF was created with the mandate to uphold and defend the rights of every child. So as we commemorate UNICEFs 75th year, we must also take stock of the work yet to be done for children. Now and in the years to come, we will continue to strive to create a world where childrens rights are fully realized, and where we open opportunities for every child. This is an ambitious undertaking that depends on new and strengthened partnerships with governments, civil society, our UN sister agencies and business. But together, we can build on the foundation of 75 years of results forchildren. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the private sector was instrumental in helping to rebuild economies, services and systems for children. In the years to come, the private sector will be a pivotal partner in driving innovation and technology to help us provide better services to more children andfamilies. And of course, children and young people are the most important partners of all. They are more than voices and beneficiaries they are integral participants in creating and implementing solutions. Their strength, creativity and courage give me hope. By working with them, we can respond to and recover from the pandemic equitably and reimagine a better future for every child. Henrietta ForeUNICEF Executive Director Introduction A protracted pandemic with unequal impact A reimagined future 75 years of delivering for children 6 9 11 12 COVID-19s ongoing impact on children CONTENTS 1 Poverty Health and immunization Education Child protection Nutrition Mental health Humanitarian emergencies First in line for investment, last in line for cuts:An urgent agenda for action for children 1. Invest in social protection, human capital, and spending for an inclusive and resilient recovery. 2. End the pandemic and reverse the alarming rollback in child health and nutrition 3. Build back stronger by ensuring quality education, protection, and good mental health for every child 4. Build resilience to better prevent, respond to, and protect children from crises 15 16 19 20 21 22 24 25 Foreword Key messages 2 3 2 4 27 28 32 36 40 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people4 The problem COVID-19 is the worst crisis for children in UNICEFs 75-year history. Without action, the world faces a lost decade for children, leaving the Sustainable Development Goals an impossible dream. In less than two years, 100 million more children have fallen into poverty, a 10 per cent increase since 2019. In a best-case scenario, it will take seven to eight years to recover and return to pre-COVID-19 child poverty levels. The deep disparity in recovery from the pandemic is widening the gap between richer and poorer countries. While richer countries are recovering, poorer countries are saddled with debt and development gains are falling behind. The poverty rate continues to rise in low-income countries and least developed countries. The danger For the best-case scenario to become a reality, we must take action now. Even before the pandemic, around 1 billion children worldwide, and half of all children in developing countries, suffered at least one severe deprivation, without minimum levels of access to education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water. The world stands at a crossroads. We must decide to either protect and expand the gains made for child rights over years, or suffer the consequences of reversed progress and a lost decade for todays children and young people, which will be felt by all of us, everywhere. KEY MESSAGES A child drinks water from the only source in Hesbi Camp, South Lebanon, October 2021. UNICEF/UN0553717/Choufany 5 But theres hope Far from feeling powerless in the face of challenge, todays children and young people welcome change and challenges, forging ahead with resilience and courage. Rather than consigning themselves to an already determined future, they are taking action. Todays young generation are more hopeful and confident that the world is becoming a better place. Todays crises also present a unique window of opportunity for the world to reimagine itself as a fair, safe, interdependent whole in which every childs potential stands an equal chance of fulfillment. For 75 years, UNICEF has been the worlds leading architect and advocate for child rights, whose work in delivering for every child, especially in times of crisis, is as critical today as ever. This is not a moment to be cautious. This is the time to work together and build a better future. What must happen Make our collective future our children first in line for investment and last in line for cuts. This agenda for action is based on UNICEFs 75years of experience, research and practice and 75 years of listening to children and young people. To respond and recover and to reimagine the future for every child, UNICEF continues to call for: Investing in social protection, human capital and spending for an inclusive and resilient recovery Ending the pandemic and reversing the alarming rollback in child health and nutrition including through leveraging UNICEFs vital role in COVID-19 vaccine distribution Building back stronger by ensuring quality education, protection and good mental health for every child Building resilience to better prevent, respond to and protect children from crises including new approaches to end famines, protect children from climate change and reimagine disaster spending. KEY MESSAGES Rukaiya Abbas, a UNICEF Nigeria Education Officer, talks with children at Kulmsulum School in Maiduguri, Nigeria. UNICEF/UN0322355/Kokic Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people6 COVID-19 is the worst crisis for children in UNICEFs 75-year history. Almost two years into the pandemic, its widespread impact continues to deepen, increasing poverty and entrenching inequality. While some countries are recovering and rebuilding in a new normal, for too many, COVID-19 remains a catastrophe. The global response so far has been deeply unequal and inadequate. The world now stands at a crossroads. The actions we take now will determine the well-being and rights of children for years to come. The unequal rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is putting entire communities at risk. And as new variants continue to emerge, children and their communities continue to face health risks. Increases in poverty have set back progress toward realizing childrens rights and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Childrens diets have deteriorated, and families struggle to find ways to find enough food and safe water for their children. By September 2021, schoolchildren around the world have lost an estimated 1.8 trillion hours of in-person learning due to COVID-related school closures, which will have profound long-term, unequal social and economic effects. Essential nutrition and health services such as routine immunization programmes and maternal and childcare continue to be disrupted. School closures, job losses among families and increased stress and anxiety have affected the mental health of children and young people. COVID-19 remains an urgent crisis for children that requires sustained, focused action. As we commemorate UNICEFs 75th year, this report lays out the work in front of us by taking stock of the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on children and the road to respond and recover to reimagine the future for every child. INTRODUCTION 7 According to my experience studying during the pandemic, whether it was distance learning or a mix of distance and in person, it provokes a great loss of interest. There is frustration, anxiety, panic, wanting to drop out of school and well, all of this has a great impact on our mental health. I think our generation questions many things. We talk about what is taboo, but above all, we stand up and raise our voice without letting anyone silence us. We come together regardless of our differences and this is a really good thing to be able to achieve the same goal. We want to use empathy to leave behind a good planet, a good world, a good place for future generations. Sofia, Uruguay. From UNICEFs Coping with COVID, Season 2. Girls play together after school in Montevideo, Uruguay. UNICEF/UN0343234/Pazos INTRODUCTION Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people8 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people8 AN URGENT MOMENT: THE VAST IMPACT OF MULTIPLE CRISES Children today are growing up in a world facing multiple crises. The costs are not affecting all children equally. The most marginalized and vulnerable are hurt the most and vast disparities in health, education, mental health, poverty and migrants remain: In 2020, over 23 million children missed out on essential vaccines an increase of nearly 4 million from 2019, and the highest number since 2009. At its peak, more than 1.5 billion students were out of school due to nationwide shutdowns. Millions of children are either not in school or not learning the basic skills they need to build a better future. Mental health conditions affect more than 13 per cent of adolescents aged 1019 worldwide. Globally, 426 million children nearly 1 in 5 live in conflict zones that are becoming more intense and taking heavier toll on civilians, disproportionally affecting children. Women and girls are at the highest risk of conflict-related sexual violence. Eighty per cent of all humanitarian needs are driven by conflict. 50 million children suffer from wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, and this figure could increase by 9 million by 2022 due to the pandemics impact on childrens diets, nutrition services and feeding practices. Approximately 1 billion children nearly half of the worlds children live in countries that are at an extremely high risk from the impacts of climate change. More children are displaced than ever before. Last year, more than 82 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced. Health workers carry vaccines for COVID-19 vaccination session in Ramgarh, Banswada, India. UNICEF/UN0499236/ Bhardwaj 9 A PROTRACTED PANDEMIC WITH UNEQUAL IMPACT Around the world, the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on young lives. COVID-19 has affected essentially every child in the world. But it has not affected all children equally. Governments are scrambling to accelerate vaccination programmes while prolonging or even reintroducing public health measures. A survey of UNICEF Country Offices from March and April 2021 report that all countries not only those with ongoing humanitarian response or that are off-track towards reducing child mortality rates continue to face some severe service disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and response. Countries with Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeals are more affected. Lockdown measures that restrict mobility, access and transportation are a leading reason for service disruptions. The economic recovery has been deeply unequal. While richer countries are expected to regain all pandemic losses before the end of 2022, low-income countries face a fiscal and economic crisis that could last for years. And while richer countries are spending trillions on stimulus programmes and rolling out COVID-19 vaccines, low-income countries face slower economic growth, vaccine shortages, food insecurity and deepening poverty. With many lower-income countries in debt distress, the pandemic is widening the gap between rich and poor countries. Nowhere is this clearer than the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines. The triumph of science and human inventiveness led to the creation of life-saving vaccines in record time. Yet as those in richer countries have access, many in poorer countries still wait for their first dose. As of 1 November 2021, over 80 per cent of administered COVID-19 vaccine doses have been in high- and upper-middle-income countries. Just 1.5 per cent have been given in low-income countries. At the Global COVID-19 Summit in September, world leaders set a target that every country should vaccinate 70 per cent of its population by mid-2022. Yet according to one estimate, the more than 85 low-income countries will not reach a vaccination rate of 60 per cent until 2023, or even later. This unjust rollout not only affects those who lack access to vaccines but it also affects the entire world. As the virus continues to spread, the more it continues to mutate, potentially into more dangerous variants. The pandemic will not be over for anyone until it is over for everyone. A PROTRACTED PANDEMIC WITH UNEQUAL IMPACT Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people10 COVID-19 changed how I look at the world. We have had to learn to adapt quickly to unpredictable conditions. COVID-19 changed me personally to take better care of my health and cleanliness and to take care of each other I still want to be an agent of change and give more contributions to the children in Indonesia, in particular, the children in Kabupaten Bone My hope for Indonesian girls is that they can pursue as high an education as possible without obstacles, such as child marriage, arranged marriage and other things. I wish that people realized that education is the most significant thing. Zulfa, Indonesia. From UNICEFs Coping with COVID, Season 2. Endah puts a mask on her daughter Fatima, 3, before leaving their home in Bekasi, West Java province, Indonesia. UNICEF/UNI346202/Wilander 11 A year ago, we urged the world to take action to avert a lost COVID generation. One year later, it is clear that far from being powerless in the face of challenge, todays children and young people are the welcome generation welcoming change and challenges, forging ahead with resilience and courage. Rather than consigning themselves to an already determined future, they are taking action and opening new opportunities. Todays young generation is more hopeful and confident that the world is becoming a better place. UNICEFs Changing Childhood project surveyed over 20,000 people across 21 countries and found that instead of despairing in the face of inequality and the climate crisis, the young are instead more confident that the world is becoming a better place compared to those aged 40 and older. The survey also found that todays young people are more likely than the older generation to recognize the progress made as living standards have risen and access to services has expanded. The expectations of children and young people are changing. They want to be more than voices speaking out and beneficiaries of services. They are rights-holders and act as agents of change and participants in creating and implementing solutions. From addressing the climate crisis, mental health, education, xenophobia, racism and discrimination they are calling for adults to reimagine a better future. As adults, we need to listen to and learn from their perspective. We cannot afford to fail them. As UNICEF commemorates its 75th anniversary, we are recommitting ourselves with a new spirit of urgency to work with partners, supporters and children and young people all over the world to ensure children survive and thrive into healthy, productive adulthood and protect the most marginalized and vulnerable. A REIMAGINED FUTURE Children should be first in line for investment and last in line for cuts. We are starting our 76th year by calling for urgent action to respond to and recover from COVID-19. An equitable recovery will not only reverse the effects of the pandemic, but also build a foundation for responding to future crises and reverse the deep inequalities that affect children: 1. Invest in social protection human capital and spending for an inclusive and resilient recovery: Ensure an inclusive recovery for every child Invest in the untapped potential of young migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people. 2. End the pandemic and reverse the alarming rollback in child health and nutrition, including through leveraging UNICEFs vital role in COVID-19 vaccine distribution: Ensure fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines Protect children from deadly but treatable diseases Reverse the child nutrition crisis. 3. Build back stronger by ensuring quality education, protection and good mental health for every child: Resume in-person learning and improve quality education for every child. Invest in the mental health and well-being of children and young people. 4. Build resilience to better prevent, respond to and protect children from crises, including new approaches to end famines, protect children from climate change, and reimagine disaster spending: Consign famine and food insecurity to history Take urgent action to protect children from climate change and slow the devastating rise in global temperatures Reimagine disaster spending. Redouble efforts to protect children in war A REIMAGINED FUTURE OF DELIVERING FOR CHILDREN 75 YEARS Following the 1989 adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child the most comprehensive international legal framework on childrens rights UNICEF brought nations together under the banner of childrens rights and adopted a human rights-based approach to programming, placing human rights principles at the centre of its work. Inthe 1990s, UNICEF also developed School-in-a-Box, which continues to keep children learning in emergency settings. On a global scale, childrens health and well-being have improved significantly since 1946. Together with partners, UNICEF has developed life-changing innovations for children: the India MarkII family of water handpumps developed in the 1970s is still the worlds most widely used human-powered pump. 1946 1970s 1980s 1990s When UNICEF was founded in 1946 during the aftermath of World War II, the world faced unprecedented devastation. The worlds children needed the support, services and advocacy that UNICEF could provide. Photographs: top left UNICEF/UNI43138/Unknown, top right UNICEF/UN0300443/Bannon, bottom left UNICEF/UNI43280/Wolff, bottom right UNICEF/ UN0339499/Frank Dejongh In the early 1980s, UNICEF launched the Child Survival and Development Revolution, a drive to save the lives of millions of children each year, focusing on four low-cost measures: growth monitoring, oral rehydration therapy, promotion of breastfeeding and immunization. A decade later, UNICEF took a leading role in challenging systemic inequity around the world. In 2015, the world began working toward a new global development agenda, seeking to achieve, by 2030, new targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But there is still much to do. Deeply ingrained discrimination, poverty and inequality are leaving too many children and young people behind. UNICEF is dedicated to continuing to reach children from the poorest, most disadvantaged households, communities and countries. 2000s 2010s 2020s Photographs: top left UNICEF/UN0519450/Upadhayay, top right UNICEF/UN0528415/Sujan, bottom left UNICEF/UNI187128/Noorani, bottom right UNICEF/UN0546107/Contreras In the 2000s, UNICEF brought to scale a ready-to-use therapeutic food, which has become the global standard to treat children suffering from malnutrition. From 2000 to 2019, scaling up of coverage of malaria prevention and treatment, such as insecticide-treated nets, malaria rapid testing and drugs, reduced global malaria mortality by 60 per cent. And in 2020, as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF played a key role in the UN-wide response and led efforts to procure and supply COVID-19 vaccines so that all countries have fair and equitable access to the vaccine as part of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX). Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people14 Hamsatou, 13, washes her hands at the Socoura displacement camp in Mopti, Mali. UNICEF/ UN0488966/ Keta 15 COVID-19S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN Conflicts are increasingly affecting civilians, disproportionately affecting children, with women and girls at increased risk of conflict-related sexual violence. In 2020, over 23 million children missed out on essential vaccines, the highest number since 2009. The percentage of children living in multidimensional poverty is projected to have increased from 4648per cent pre-COVID-19 to around 52 per cent in 2021, an increase of 100 million additional children. The percentage of children in monetary poor households is projected to have increased from 32 per cent in 2019 to 35 per cent in 2021, more than 60 million more children compared to before the pandemic. At the peak of the pandemic, 1.8 billion children lived in the 104 countries where violence prevention and response services were seriously disrupted. By October 2020, the pandemic had disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93percent of countries worldwide Schools were closed worldwide for almost 80 per cent of the in-person instruction time during the first year of the pandemic. At its peak in March 2020, 1.6 billion learners (90percent of total learners worldwide) were facing school closure. 50 million children suffer from wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition. This figure could increase by 9million by 2022 because of the impact of the pandemic. COVID-19S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people16 The COVID-19 pandemic is reversing progress in the fight against child poverty. Although in much of the world, child poverty levels in late 2021 are not as high as in the early months of the pandemic in 2020, it will take at least seven to eight years to recover and return to pre-COVID-19 child poverty levels. Simply put, the recovery is not fast enough. UNICEF calculates child poverty by two distinct but complementary measures: children living in monetary poor households and multidimensional poverty (deprivations in at least one of the following: education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water). The percentage of children living in monetary poor households is projected to have increased dramatically in 2020 compared to 2019. While globally, 2021 is expected to see a modest decrease from 2020, there is a stark inequality. While richer countries seem to be improving, the poverty rate is expected to increase in low-income countries and least developed countries compared to 2020. In developing countries, the percentage of children living in multidimensional poverty is projected to have increased from 4648 per cent pre-COVID-19 (around 1 billion children) to around 52 per cent in 2021. This is equivalent to a projected increase of 100 million additional children living in poverty compared to 2019. In the least developed countries, the increase in poverty is projected to be even more dramatic, rising from 48 per cent in 2019 to around 56 per cent in 2021 (an increase of over 40 million children). In addition, lower-income countries are recovering at a slower pace and continue to have higher levels of POVERTY Sebabatso Nchephe, 18, stands on the roof of the home she shares with her mother and two sisters in Ivory Park, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. UNICEF/UNI363394/Schermbrucker 17 The share of children living in monetary poor households is projected to continue rising in low-income countries FIGURE 1 unemployment, prolonging the suffering of families and children. The unequal distribution of the COVID-19 shock will likely deepen inequality between countries and particularly impact children living in low-income regions. Children already living in monetary poverty are more likely to suffer a greater depth of poverty, while a new pool of children is more likely to increase the prevalence of poverty due to the unemployment rate increase. Even before the pandemic, almost half of all children in developing countries suffered at least one severe deprivation such as education, health, housing, nutrition, or water and sanitation. In 2020, multidimensional poverty increased 1518 per cent due to immediate impacts of COVID-19 such as school closures and health services disruption. Some of this increase is projected to be reversed in 2021 as schools reopen and health services recover. However, as the pandemic continues, lagging and cumulative effects of the economic disruption on nutrition are becoming evident, leading to a change in the composition of child poverty. These changes include both a different set of children and different problems. Underlying many of these challenges are significant gaps in social protection. For example, only 1 in 4 children have access to any form of child or family benefit.1 1 Note: For more on the assumptions, analysis, and methods used to expand and update the projections of the impact of COVID-19 on child poverty and children living in monetary poor households carried out last year by Save the Children and UNICEF, please see Impact of COVID-19 on children living in poverty: A Technical Note . COVID-19S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN The rise in multidimensional poverty since before the pandemic is expected to be more dramatic for the least-developed countries FIGURE 2 0 10 20 30 40 60 50 2019 2020 2021 Low-income countries Least developedcountries Lower-middle-income Non-least-developedcountries Developing countries Upper-middle-income 0 10 20 30 40 60 50 Developing countries Least-developedcountries Non-least-developedcountries 2019 2020 2021 Children living in monetary poor households (%) Children living in multidimensional poverty (%) Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people18 According to data from the first quarter of 2021, more than half of respondent countries reported some level of reduction in routine vaccination services compared to the same time in 2020 and more than one third of respondent countries reported disruptions to both routine facility-based and outreach immunization services. Years of progress in childhood immunization were eroded in less than two years of the pandemic: In 2020, over 23 million children missed out on essential vaccines an increase of nearly 4 million from 2019, and the highest number since 2009. HEALTH AND IMMUNIZATION Of those 23 million more than 60 per cent live in just ten countries (Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines) and 17 million of them did not receive any vaccines (zero-dose children). Most of these children live in communities affected by conflict, under-served remote areas, or informal urban settings where they experience multiple deprivations, including poor access to basic health and social services. Rocham Dear holds her disabled child at a UNICEF-supported vaccination and screening centre in Ratanakiri province, Cambodia. UNICEF/UN0403524/Raab 19 The impact of school closures during the first year of the pandemic was truly a worldwide phenomenon, affecting all countries and regions. In all, schools were either fully or partially closed worldwide for almost 80 per cent of the in-person instruction time during the first year of the pandemic. Globally during the first year of the pandemic, schools were fully closed 43 per cent of the time intended for in-person classroom instruction. Schools were partially closed 35 per cent of the time. Latin America and the Caribbean has been the most affected region with 80 per cent of instruction time disrupted due to full school closures. South Asia, the most populous region where the loss of instruction time due to full school closures accounted for 57 per cent, and Middle East and North Africa accounted for 51 per cent. In some countries, schools have been closed throughout the entire pandemic from early 2020. According to data from UNESCO, as of 31 October, 2021, an estimated more than 55 million students are affected by school closures in 14 countries, without any in-person learning. Low-income and lower-middle income countries have been more affected by full school closures than upper-middle income and high-income countries. Richer schoolchildren have access to digital technology that allows them to learn remotely, whereas children from poorer households are at risk of falling further behind in their education. The combination of prolonged school closures and inadequate remote learning could translate into substantial learning loss, further exacerbating the learning crisis. Stark inequalities in internet access remain across and within countries. Globally, 2.2 billion children and young people aged 25 years or less two thirds of children and young people worldwide do not have an internet connection at home. EDUCATION Disparities in access to the internet are even starker between rich and poor countries. Only 6 per cent of children and young people aged 25 years or younger in low-income countries have internet access at home, compared to 87 per cent in high-income countries. Globally, among the richest 20 per cent of families, 58per cent of children and young people aged 25 years or younger have internet access at home compared to only 16 per cent of children and young people from the poorest 20 per cent of households. COVID-19S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN Children in school No. 78 in Yerevan, Armenia wear masks at school to protect themselves and others from COVID-19. UNICEF/UN0415007/Galstyan Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people20 A higher percentage of in-person instruction time was disrupted by full school closures in low- and lower-middle-income countries FIGURE 3 Percentage of in-person instruction time disrupted by school closures over the first year of the pandemic (11 March 2020 11 March 2021) Note: Schools are considered fully closed if the closures institutionalized by the governments affect at least 70 per cent of the students (in pre-primary through upper secondary education) in a country; subnational school closures affecting a smaller share of students are considered as partial. 46 42 41 33 32 24 0 3 3 22 36 13 27 29 25 21 26 39 24 25 97 18 40 35 22 34 33 51 29 38 32 29 44 51 3 79 57 43 42 53 40 21 Western Europe West andCentral Africa Eastern Europeand Central Asia East Asiaand Pacific Eastern andSouthern Africa Middle East andNorth Africa North America Latin Americaand Caribbean South Asia World Low income Lower middleincome Upper-middleincome High income BY RE GIO NB Y IN CO ME GR OU P Schools that are fully closedSchools that are fully open Schools that are partially closed 21 CHILD PROTECTION Even before COVID-19, violence was all-too common in the lives of children, affecting at least 1 billion children every year. All indications suggest that the disruptions and public health measures associated with the pandemic may have increased the frequency and intensity of this violence. At the same time, children have been cut off from many of the positive and supportive relationships they rely on when in distress, including at school, in the extended family or the community. At the peak of the pandemic, 1.8 billion children lived in the 104 countries where violence prevention and response services were seriously disrupted. While the immediate health crisis will eventually wane, the impact of violence and trauma in childhood can last a lifetime including serious social and economic costs. Child marriage is closely associated with lower educational attainment, early pregnancies, intimate partner violence, maternal and child mortality, increased rates of sexually transmitted infections, intergenerational poverty, and the disempowerment of married girls. The pandemic is undoing years of progress in the fight against this practice. Up to 10million additional child marriages can occur before the end of the decade as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Poverty reduction along with access to education and jobs are key to ending child marriage. Global progress to end child labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years. The latest global estimates indicate that the number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide an increase of 8.4million children in the last four years. At the beginning of 2020, 63 million girls and 97 million boys were in child labour globally, accounting for almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide. An additional 9 million children are at risk of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 as a result of the increase in poverty triggered by the pandemic. COVID-19S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN Meimouna, 12 years old, has everything to succeed. A brilliant student, she gets good marks and dreams of becoming a teacher. However, in the Mberra refugee camp, Mauritania, where she lives, a threat hangs over her future: early marriage. UNICEF/UN0479231/Pouget Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people22 NUTRITION The pandemic has harmed the nutrition, diets and food security of children and adolescents, especially for those living in poverty with multiple vulnerabilities. Childrens diets have long been inadequate only 29 per cent of children aged 623 months receive a minimally diverse diet and only 52 per cent receive a minimum meal frequency, with no notable change in the last 10 years. The pandemic has made childrens diets even worse. Quarantine measures, deteriorating economic conditions of families, and school closures have led to dramatically increased food insecurity. In the Philippines, households classified as moderately or severely food insecure jumped to 65 per cent, compared to 40 per cent before the pandemic. Fifty-six per cent of Filipino households report problems accessing food because of job loss, lack of money or limited public transportation. Economic situations have forced families to resort to difficult food-based coping strategies to manage limited food resources. These included limiting portion sizes during meals and relying on less preferred or less expensive food. In Cambodia, households that adopted these strategies increased from 62 per cent in August 2020 to 71 per cent in July 2021. Lower dietary diversity. The pandemic has also affected the quality of childrens diets, dramatically increasing their risk for micronutrient deficiencies. In Sri Lanka, there was a reduction in the consumption of flesh foods, dairy, pulses, and vitamin A rich foods among children 623 months old compared to data from November 2019. Children have consumed more processed foods. With more time spent at home due to social distancing and mobility restrictions, children and their families have shifted their food consumption patterns, often eating more unhealthy foods. For example, consumption of fruits declined by 30 per cent in Kenya and Uganda compared to pre-COVID-19. In Zimbabwe, 36percent reported an increase of sugary and junk food consumption since the beginning of lockdown in May 2020. Children have witnessed more ads for unhealthy products in the media during the pandemic. A review of social media posts from Uruguay corroborates the digital marketing practices of food companies. More than a third (35 per cent) of their Facebook posts on ultra-processed products made reference to the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to stay home and consume more of their products. Maria Mndez, 26, is feeding crushed bananas to her two-year-old daughter Mariela in Colotenango, Guatemala. UNICEF/UN0515109/Volpe 23 In Lusikisiki Ngobozana, Eastern Cape, South Africa, a caregiver monitors Marlons recovery from acute malnutrition, while his mother, Nomakhosazana, holds him. COVID-19-related lockdowns made those living in marginalized communities even more vulnerable. In South Africa, moderate and severe acute malnutrition remain a significant underlying causes of child mortality. Many families say the frequency of caregivers home visits have decreased and clinics havent been consistently open. Pandemic-necessitated travel restrictions further exposed a sharp divide between those who can afford adequate diets and services and those who cannot. From UNICEF and Magnum Photos Generation COVID photo project. UNICEF/UN0488697/Sobekwa/Magnum Photos Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people24 MENTAL HEALTH Even before the pandemic, in almost every country, mental health remains stigmatized and underfunded and poor mental health is limiting the life chances of children and adolescents around the world. More than 13 per cent of adolescents aged 1019 live with a diagnosed mental disorder. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for young people aged 15-19. Half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age. COVID-19 has exposed the extent and severity of the mental health crisis. The disruption to routines, education, recreation, as well as concern for family income, health and increase in stress and anxiety, is leaving many children and young people feeling afraid, angry and concerned for their future. By October 2020, the pandemic had disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93 per cent of countries worldwide, while the demand for mental health support increased. National lockdowns have piled pressure on vulnerable children, as well as parents and caregivers ability to protect and nurture them. According to UNICEFs Changing Childhood project across 21 countries in the first half of 2021, 1 in 5 young people reported often feeling depressed or having little interest in doing things. In fact, we wont know the true impact of COVID-19 on childrens mental health for years. Children in Chattisgarh, India participate in games and activities to build emotional awareness as part of a Manas Foundation mental health and pschyo-socio-support programme facilitated by UNICEF. UNICEF/UN0517425/Panjwani 25 HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES Current humanitarian trends are deeply concerning. A steep rise in the number of countries and people affected humanitarian crises, including natural disasters, armed conflict and infectious disease outbreak continues. United Nations inter-agency appeals reflects the growing scale of humanitarian assistance and protection needs. In 2011, 14consolidated appeals aimed to reach 112 million people. By 2021, this number has grown to nearly 160million people across 27 consolidated appeals. Conflicts are increasingly affecting civilian populations, disproportionately affecting children. Women and girls are at increased risk of conflict-related sexual violence. As the intensity of conflict has increased, the number of people internally displaced by conflict reached its highest level. Entering 2021, there were an estimated 48 million internally displaced persons globally, and the number of refugees had reached 20 million. On top of this, the worsening climate crisis is also a deepening child rights crisis. Increasingly severe and frequent weather events and natural disasters are exacerbating chronic vulnerabilities. Globally, approximately 1 billion children nearly half of the worlds children live in countries that are at an extremely high-risk from the impacts of climate change. A humanitarian shipment which arrived at Beirut international airport through a UNICEF charter flight. The shipment included essential drugs, oral rehydration salts and antibiotics, medical and surgical supplies, and nutritional commodities. UNICEF/UN0551291/Choufany COVID-19S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people26 A boy smiles at a learning centre in Barranquilla, Colombia, which provides education to children aged 615 who have been displaced by violence and are not enrolled in school. UNICEF/ UN0488971/Romero 27 As when UNICEF was founded 75 years ago, the world needed solutions to heal divisions, harness global progress, and protect and uphold universal human rights. We believe just as firmly now as we did 75 years ago that this starts with guaranteeing the next generation a better life than the last. We know what this world looks like. It is a world where we realize the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goals in their entirety. Where we work together to end the pandemic and reverse the potentially devastating backslide in progress on child health and nutrition. Where we build back stronger by ensuring quality education and mental health for every child. Where we end poverty and invest in human capital for an inclusive recovery. Where we reverse climate change. And where we secure a new deal for children living through conflict, disaster, and displacement. The solutions below provide a clear roadmap towards this world. But this is only the beginning. We will only emerge stronger by working together governments, businesses, civil society, the public and most of all children and young people, to build a better future for every child. 1.Invest in social protection,human capital and spending for an inclusive and resilient recovery. 2.End the pandemic and reverse the alarming rollback in child health and nutrition including through leveraging UNICEFs vital role in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. 3.Build back stronger by ensuring quality education, protection, and good mental health for every child. 4.Build resilience to better prevent, respond to, and protect children from crises including new approaches to end famines, protect children from climate change, and reimagine disaster spending. First in line for investment, last in line for cuts: AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people28 INVEST IN SOCIAL PROTECTION, HUMAN CAPITAL, AND SPENDING FOR AN INCLUSIVE AND RESILIENT RECOVERY 1 Ranvir laughs heartily as he plays with his friends at an Anganwadi centre in Nayakheda, Rajasthan, India. Similar to day care centres, Anganwadi Centres provide meals, basic health services, immunization and a happy and safe place to play and learn for children in villages and rural areas throughout India. UNICEF/ UNI333247 29 ENSURE AN INCLUSIVE RECOVERY FOR EVERY CHILD Economic crises are often followed by cuts to government spending, including on programmes for children. If the world repeats this pattern in the wake of COVID-19, poverty and deprivation among children will persist long after the immediate crisis has waned. To prevent a lost decade, it is essential that countries invest in children to achieve sustained, inclusive economic growth and ensure they are prepared for the global economy of the future. We urgently need an inclusive recovery plan to reinstate the hard-won development gains of the past and avert the consequences of poverty for millions more children and their families. The COVID-19 pandemic risks devastating long-term economic consequences for children, communities and countries around the world. Children who were already marginalized are the most affected, as they suffer the impact of living in poverty, lost education, poorer nutrition and disrupted mental health. An inclusive recovery requires: 1. Governments safeguarding critical social spending to ensure that social systems and interventions are protected from spending cuts and expanded where inadequate. All governments should identify and ring-fence spending on programmes for children, adopting the principle of children being first in line for investment and last in line for cuts. Expand resilient social protection programmes for the most vulnerable children, no matter their migration status, as well as families with children, including working towards universal child benefits and child-friendly services like affordable, quality childcare. 2. Governments ensuring the best, most equitable, effective, and efficient use of financial resources across social sectors for human capital development. This includes ensuring that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is green, low-carbon and inclusive, so that the capacity of future generations to address and respond to the climate crisis is not compromised. 3. International donors directing finance towards an inclusive recovery that protects children, especially the poorest and most marginalized. Maintain or increase overseas aid commitments, identifying context-specific new financing options, and direct funding to those countries most affected and least able to take on new lending. Act on debt relief, including extending current debt service suspension beyond December 2021 and to middle-income countries. Ensure coordinated action covering all creditors to restructure and, where necessary, reduce debt. AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN A Rohingya refugee girl jumps across a bridge in a large puddle caused by recent rains in Balukhali camp for Rohingya refugees in Coxs Bazaar District, Bangladesh. UNICEF/UN0205640/Sokol Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people30 INVEST IN THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF YOUNG MIGRANTS, REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE One way to grow human capital following COVID-19 is to invest in talent on the move, a unique, yet largely untapped pool of talent, ideas, and entrepreneurship. Often resilient, highly motivated and with experience overcoming adversity, migrant and displaced youth have the potential to help solve some of our greatest challenges. McKinsey calculated that migrants made up just 3.4 per cent of the worlds population in 2015 but contributed nearly 10 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP). Our own lives are touched every day by inventions and products developed by migrants or refugees. In 2017, nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies were founded by American immigrants or children of immigrants. While talent is universal, for many, opportunities are hard to come by. Governments and donors around the world must do more to break down the barriers standing in the way of this enormous potential to build back stronger. Unlocking the untapped potential of talent on the move requires: Governments removing barriers that prevent children and young people on the move accessing education, health and social protection. This includes opening national schools to all children independent of migration status, abolishing school fees, establishing scholarship programmes and paid traineeships, and providing financial assistance for school supplies. Governments recognizing prior learning and qualifications of migrant and displaced children and young people. Innovative digital solutions can be leveraged to achieve this. Governments stepping up their efforts to close the digital divide and create more opportunities for refugee and migrant children and youth to transition from learning to earning. Governments, caregivers and social services providing young people with more relevant and targeted information on available education and employment
Европа и Центральная Азия
