A new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has delivered a stark warning: one out of every five children on the planet is growing up in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $3 a day.
Released on Thursday, the report shows that the burden of deprivation falls heaviest on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where nearly 90 per cent of the world’s poorest children live. Yet the crisis is far from limited to low-income regions.
UNICEF noted that even in some of the world’s richest nations, 23 per cent of children are growing up with far fewer resources than their peers, highlighting widening inequality across the globe.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said, urging governments not to turn away from policies that protect vulnerable children.
“When governments commit to ending child poverty by implementing effective policies, they can unlock a world of possibilities for children.”
Drawing on data from more than 130 low- and middle-income countries, the report examines deprivation in six critical areas: education, health, nutrition, housing, sanitation and access to clean water.
According to the findings, 118 million children are severely deprived in at least three of these essential dimensions — a situation UNICEF warns could have lifelong consequences.
The agency notes that poverty in childhood often leads to poorer health outcomes, learning gaps, limited economic prospects in adulthood, and higher risks of mental-health struggles such as depression and anxiety.
The report lands at a difficult moment, as many governments are scaling back foreign-aid commitments. UNICEF warns that if this trend continues, the world could see an additional six million children pushed out of school as early as next year.
The agency is calling for urgent, sustained investment to ensure that millions of children are not left behind at a time of growing global uncertainty.
