UN: Children’s well-being has taken major hit over past three years

A new report by the United Nations has found that childhood well-being has been on a three-year decline. The report attributed the critical regression of such well-being to the global fallout from the Covid pandemic as well as climate shocks. Moreover, the report also says the two factors are also jeopardising gains in women’s health.

According to the Straits Times, the recently released UN report indicated that child marriage, food insecurity, hunger, adolescent depression and anxiety and intimate partner violence have all increased over the last three years. UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell says the pandemic has impacted less fortunate communities.

“The impacts of Covid-19, conflicts and climate crises have raised the stakes for vulnerable communities. Investing in resilient, inclusive primary healthcare systems, jumpstarting routine immunisation programmes, and strengthening the health workforce are some of the most effective ways to tackle this.”

She also noted that about 25 million children were either unvaccinated or under-vaccinated in 2021. That number is apparently six million more since 2019. Russell also noted that around 80 per cent of children in 104 countries and territories had suffered learning losses due to school closures from the pandemic. And, 10.5 million children had lost a parent or primary caregiver to Covid-19.

Furthermore, another report by UNICEF titled “Prospects for children in 2022: a global outlook,” has detailed the harm caused by the Covid pandemic and other increasingly problematic factors.

“2022 sees us entering a third year of the pandemic, and the harm done to children is increasingly evident: A record rise in child poverty. Setbacks to progress on routine vaccinations. Disruption to education for an entire generation. That harm has emerged as an unintended side-effect of the world’s efforts to manage the crisis. COVID has been a uniquely dis-equalizing crisis. Lopsided access to vaccines aside, learning losses have been greatest among the poorest children, and job losses have been disproportionately borne by women and youth. ”