About 25% of the world’s children are likely to live in poverty this year as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has sent food and energy prices skyrocketing, the NGO KidsRights warned on Monday.
The KidsRights classification, based on figures from UN agencies, also shows that children are threatened by climate change and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on health.
“All of this adds up to a crisis of great gravity as already global tensions continue to destroy the rights and livelihoods of children,” told the NGO KidsRights.
Sweden, Finland and Iceland are the highest ranked countries on the list of 193 states. Chad, South Sudan and Afghanistan are the worst countries for children, according to the NGO.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, was on a list of crises that affect children’s rights, the organization explains.
“One in four children is expected to live below the poverty line this year due to the war in Ukraine, which has driven up prices, energy and food around the world,” says KidsRight in the report.
Ukraine’s 7.5 million children were “disproportionately affected by the war,” and a large number of them had to be displaced, the document says.
Post-pandemic inflation and the global weakening of health systems due to covid-19 also have a negative impact, especially on vaccination programs, according to the same source.
A total of 67 million children have not been properly vaccinated between 2019 and 2021 due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Climate change is also a danger, especially in some Asian countries, where minors are “particularly exposed to weather phenomena”.
Source: DN
