PREVENTING A LOST DECADE

Urgent action to reverse

the devastating impact
of COVID-19 on children
and young people
FOREWORD

For 75 years, UNICEF has delivered for children. From The world stands at a crossroads. We have a
armed conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian decision to make. Do we rally and unite to protect
crises to long-term survival and development years of progress on child rights? Or do we allow
programmes, our staff and partners have been on the the unequal recovery from COVID-19 to further
ground working to provide essential services for those marginalize the disadvantaged and increase
in need. Through the decades, UNICEF has helped to inequality even more?
develop healthier and safer environments for children
and their families. UNICEF was created at another moment of crisis.
Much of the world lay in ruins following years of war.
Take one example – vaccines. In the 1980s, UNICEF Then, as now, marginalized and vulnerable children
and partners embarked on a bold mission – to were most affected. In this context, UNICEF was
immunize every child against preventable diseases. created with the mandate to uphold and defend the
Together with governments, we facilitated one of the rights of every child.
greatest logistical mobilizations in peacetime history.
By the early 1990s, global childhood immunization So as we commemorate UNICEF’s 75th year, we
levels reached 80 per cent. must also take stock of the work yet to be done
for children. Now and in the years to come, we
Before the pandemic, we had made great strides will continue to strive to create a world where
toward helping all children realize their right to health, children’s rights are fully realized, and where we open
education and protection. At the start of 2020, more opportunities for every child. This is an ambitious
children were living to see their first birthday than undertaking that depends on new and strengthened
at any time in history. Child mortality had fallen by partnerships with governments, civil society, our
50 per cent since 2000. Maternal mortality and child UN sister agencies and business. But together, we
marriages were on the decline and more girls were can build on the foundation of 75 years of results
going to and staying in school than ever before. for children.

Yet multiple crises are now threatening those hard- In the aftermath of the Second World War, the
fought gains for children. The COVID-19 pandemic private sector was instrumental in helping to rebuild
has been the biggest threat to children in our 75-year economies, services and systems for children.
history. While the number of children who are hungry, In the years to come, the private sector will be a
out of school, abused, living in poverty or forced into pivotal partner in driving innovation and technology
marriage is going up, the number of children with to help us provide better services to more children
access to health care, vaccines, sufficient food and and families.
essential services is going down.
And of course, children and young people are
The COVID-19 pandemic, a worsening climate crisis, the most important partners of all. They are more
armed conflict, displacement and other humanitarian than voices and beneficiaries – they are integral
emergencies are depriving children of their health and participants in creating and implementing solutions.
well-being. These developments portend an even more Their strength, creativity and courage give me hope.
challenging future – a future in which the world could fall By working with them, we can respond to and recover
short of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals from the pandemic equitably and reimagine a better
(SDGs) to end poverty, reduce inequality and build more future for every child.
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 Henrietta Fore
an abyss – and moving in the wrong direction.” UNICEF Executive Director
CONTENTS

Foreword 2
Key messages 4

Introduction 6
1
A protracted pandemic with unequal impact 9
A reimagined future 11
75 years of delivering for children 12

2 COVID-19’s ongoing impact on children 15

Poverty 16
Health and immunization 19
Education 20
Child protection 21
Nutrition 22
Mental health 24
Humanitarian emergencies 25

First in line for investment, last in line for cuts:

3
An urgent agenda for action for children 27

1. Invest in social protection, human capital, and 28

spending for an inclusive and resilient recovery.
2. End the pandemic and reverse the alarming rollback 32
in child health and nutrition
3. Build back stronger by ensuring quality education, 36
protection, and good mental health for every child
4. Build resilience to better prevent, respond to, and 40
protect children from crises
4 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

KEY MESSAGES

The problem The danger

• COVID-19 is the worst crisis for children in UNICEF’s • For the best-case scenario to become a reality, we
75-year history. Without action, the world faces a must take action now.
lost decade for children, leaving the Sustainable • Even before the pandemic, around 1 billion children
Development Goals an impossible dream. worldwide, and half of all children in developing
• In less than two years, 100 million more children countries, suffered at least one severe deprivation,
have fallen into poverty, a 10 per cent increase since without minimum levels of access to education,
2019. health, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water.
• In a best-case scenario, it will take seven to eight • The world stands at a crossroads. We must decide
years to recover and return to pre-COVID-19 child to either protect and expand the gains made for
poverty levels. child rights over years, or suffer the consequences
• The deep disparity in recovery from the pandemic of reversed progress and a lost decade for today’s
is widening the gap between richer and poorer children and young people, which will be felt by all of
countries. While richer countries are recovering, us, everywhere.
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.

A child drinks water

from the only source
in Hesbi Camp, South
Lebanon, October 2021.
© UNICEF/UN0553717/Choufany
 KEY MESSAGES 5

But there’s hope What must happen

• Far from feeling powerless in the face of challenge, • Make our collective future – our children – first in
today’s children and young people welcome line for investment and last in line for cuts.
change and challenges, forging ahead with • This agenda for action is based on UNICEF’s
resilience and courage. Rather than consigning 75 years of experience, research and practice and
themselves to an already determined future, 75 years of listening to children and young people.
they are taking action. Today’s young generation • To respond and recover and to reimagine the
are more hopeful and confident that the world is future for every child, UNICEF continues to call for:
becoming a better place. › Investing in social protection, human capital and
• Today’s crises also present a unique window of spending for an inclusive and resilient recovery
opportunity for the world to reimagine itself – › Ending the pandemic and reversing the
as a fair, safe, interdependent whole in which alarming rollback in child health and nutrition –
every child’s potential stands an equal chance of including through leveraging UNICEF’s vital role
fulfillment. in COVID-19 vaccine distribution
• For 75 years, UNICEF has been the world’s leading › Building back stronger by ensuring quality
architect and advocate for child rights, whose work education, protection and good mental health
in delivering for every child, especially in times of for every child
crisis, is as critical today as ever. › Building resilience to better prevent, respond to
• This is not a moment to be cautious. This is the and protect children from crises – including new
time to work together and build a better future. approaches to end famines, protect children from
climate change and reimagine disaster spending.

Rukaiya Abbas, a
UNICEF Nigeria
Education Officer,
talks with children at
Kulmsulum School in
Maiduguri, Nigeria.
© UNICEF/UN0322355/Kokic
6 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

INTRODUCTION

COVID-19 is the worst crisis for children in UNICEF’s By September 2021, schoolchildren around the world
75-year history. Almost two years into the pandemic, have lost an estimated 1.8 trillion hours of in-person
its widespread impact continues to deepen, increasing learning due to COVID-related school closures, which
poverty and entrenching inequality. While some will have profound long-term, unequal social and
countries are recovering and rebuilding in a ‘new economic effects.
normal’, for too many, COVID-19 remains a catastrophe.
Essential nutrition and health services such as routine
The global response so far has been deeply unequal immunization programmes and maternal and childcare
and inadequate. The world now stands at a crossroads. continue to be disrupted.
The actions we take now will determine the well-being
and rights of children for years to come. School closures, job losses among families and
increased stress and anxiety have affected the mental
The unequal rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is putting health of children and young people.
entire communities at risk. And as new variants
continue to emerge, children and their communities COVID-19 remains an urgent crisis for children that
continue to face health risks. requires sustained, focused action.

Increases in poverty have set back progress toward As we commemorate UNICEF’s 75th year, this report
realizing children’s rights and achieving the Sustainable lays out the work in front of us by taking stock of the
Development Goals. ongoing impact of COVID-19 on children and the road
to respond and recover to reimagine the future for
Children’s diets have deteriorated, and families struggle every child.
to find ways to find enough food and safe water for
their children.
 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 UNICEF’s Coping with COVID, Season 2.

Girls play together after

school in Montevideo,
Uruguay.
© UNICEF/UN0343234/Pazos
8 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

AN URGENT MOMENT: THE VAST IMPACT OF MULTIPLE CRISES

Health workers carry

vaccines for COVID-19
vaccination session in
Ramgarh, Banswada, India.
© UNICEF/UN0499236/ Bhardwaj

Children today are growing up in a world facing and taking heavier toll on civilians, disproportionally
multiple crises. affecting children. Women and girls are at the highest
risk of conflict-related sexual violence. Eighty per cent
The costs are not affecting all children equally. The of all humanitarian needs are driven by conflict.
most marginalized and vulnerable are hurt the most
and vast disparities in health, education, mental health, 50 million children suffer from wasting, the most life-
poverty and migrants remain: threatening form of malnutrition, and this figure could
increase by 9 million by 2022 due to the pandemic’s
In 2020, over 23 million children missed out on impact on children’s diets, nutrition services and
essential vaccines – an increase of nearly 4 million feeding practices.
from 2019, and the highest number since 2009.
Approximately 1 billion children – nearly half of the
At its peak, more than 1.5 billion students were out world’s children – live in countries that are at an
of school due to nationwide shutdowns. Millions of ‘extremely high risk’ from the impacts of climate
children are either not in school or not learning the change.
basic skills they need to build a better future.
More children are displaced than ever before. Last
Mental health conditions affect more than 13 per cent year, more than 82 million people worldwide were
of adolescents aged 10–19 worldwide. forcibly displaced.

Globally, 426 million children – nearly 1 in 5 – live

in conflict zones that are becoming more intense
 A PROTRACTED PANDEMIC WITH UNEQUAL IMPACT 9

A PROTRACTED PANDEMIC
WITH UNEQUAL IMPACT

Around the world, the pandemic continues to Nowhere is this clearer than the roll-out of COVID-19
wreak havoc on young lives. COVID-19 has affected vaccines. The triumph of science and human
essentially every child in the world. But it has not inventiveness led to the creation of life-saving vaccines
affected all children equally. Governments are in record time. Yet as those in richer countries have
scrambling to accelerate vaccination programmes access, many in poorer countries still wait for their
while prolonging or even reintroducing public health first dose. As of 1 November 2021, over 80 per cent
measures. of administered COVID-19 vaccine doses have been in
high- and upper-middle-income countries. Just 1.5 per
A survey of UNICEF Country Offices from March cent have been given in low-income countries.
and April 2021 report that all countries – not only
those with ongoing humanitarian response or that At the Global COVID-19 Summit in September, world
are off-track towards reducing child mortality rates – leaders set a target that every country should vaccinate
continue to face some severe service disruptions due 70 per cent of its population by mid-2022. Yet according
to the COVID-19 pandemic and response. Countries to one estimate, the more than 85 low-income
with Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeals countries will not reach a vaccination rate of 60 per
are more affected. Lockdown measures that restrict cent until 2023, or even later.
mobility, access and transportation are a leading reason
for service disruptions. This unjust rollout not only affects those who lack
access to vaccines but it also affects the entire world.
The economic recovery has been deeply unequal. As the virus continues to spread, the more it continues
While richer countries are expected to regain all to mutate, potentially into more dangerous variants.
pandemic losses before the end of 2022, low-income
countries face a fiscal and economic crisis that could The pandemic will not be over for anyone until it is over
last for years. And while richer countries are spending for everyone.
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.
10 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

“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 UNICEF’s 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
 A REIMAGINED FUTURE 11

A REIMAGINED FUTURE

A year ago, we urged the world to take action to avert Children should be first in line for investment and
a lost COVID generation. One year later, it is clear that last in line for cuts. We are starting our 76th year by
far from being powerless in the face of challenge, calling for urgent action to respond to and recover from
today’s children and young people are the ‘welcome’ COVID-19. An equitable recovery will not only reverse
generation – welcoming change and challenges, the effects of the pandemic, but also build a foundation
forging ahead with resilience and courage. Rather for responding to future crises and reverse the deep
than consigning themselves to an already determined inequalities that affect children:
future, they are taking action and opening new
opportunities. 1. Invest in social protection human capital and
spending for an inclusive and resilient recovery:
Today’s young generation is more hopeful and • Ensure an inclusive recovery for every child
confident that the world is becoming a better place. • Invest in the untapped potential of young migrants,
UNICEF’s Changing Childhood project surveyed over refugees, and internally displaced people.
20,000 people across 21 countries and found that
2. End the pandemic and reverse the alarming
instead of despairing in the face of inequality and the
rollback in child health and nutrition, including
climate crisis, the young are instead more confident
through leveraging UNICEF’s vital role in
that the world is becoming a better place compared
COVID-19 vaccine distribution:
to those aged 40 and older. The survey also found
• Ensure fair and equitable access to COVID-19
that today’s young people are more likely than the
vaccines
older generation to recognize the progress made as
• Protect children from deadly but treatable
living standards have risen and access to services has
diseases
expanded.
• Reverse the child nutrition crisis.

The expectations of children and young people are

3. Build back stronger by ensuring quality
changing. They want to be more than voices speaking
education, protection and good mental health for
out and beneficiaries of services. They are rights- every child:
holders and act as agents of change and participants • Resume in-person learning and improve quality
in creating and implementing solutions. From education for every child.
addressing the climate crisis, mental health, education, • Invest in the mental health and well-being of
xenophobia, racism and discrimination – they are children and young people.
calling for adults to reimagine a better future.
4. Build resilience to better prevent, respond to
As adults, we need to listen to and learn from their and protect children from crises, including new
perspective. We cannot afford to fail them. approaches to end famines, protect children
from climate change, and reimagine disaster
As UNICEF commemorates its 75th anniversary, spending:
we are recommitting ourselves with a new spirit of • Consign famine and food insecurity to history
urgency to work with partners, supporters and children • Take urgent action to protect children from climate
and young people all over the world to ensure children change and slow the devastating rise in global
survive and thrive into healthy, productive adulthood temperatures
and protect the most marginalized and vulnerable. • Reimagine disaster spending.
• Redouble efforts to protect children in war
75 YEARS
OF DELIVERING FOR CHILDREN

When UNICEF was In the early 1980s, UNICEF

founded in 1946 during launched the Child Survival
the aftermath of World and Development Revolution,
War II, the world a drive to save the lives of
faced unprecedented millions of children each year,
devastation. The world’s focusing on four low-cost
children needed the measures: growth monitoring,
support, services and oral rehydration therapy,
advocacy that UNICEF promotion of breastfeeding
and immunization.
could provide.

1946 1980s
1970s 1990s

On a global scale, children’s health and well- Following the 1989 adoption of the Convention on the
being have improved significantly since 1946. Rights of the Child – the most comprehensive international
Together with partners, UNICEF has developed legal framework on children’s rights – UNICEF brought
life-changing innovations for children: the India nations together under the banner of children’s rights and
Mark II family of water handpumps developed in adopted a human rights-based approach to programming,
the 1970s is still the world’s most widely used placing human rights principles at the centre of its work.
human-powered pump. In the 1990s, UNICEF also developed School-in-a-Box, which
continues to keep children learning in emergency settings.

Photographs: top left © UNICEF/UNI43138/Unknown, top right © UNICEF/UN0300443/Bannon, bottom left © UNICEF/UNI43280/Wolff, bottom right © UNICEF/ UN0339499/Frank Dejongh
In the 2000s, UNICEF brought to scale a ready-to- And in 2020, as the world grappled with the
use therapeutic food, which has become the global COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF played a key role
standard to treat children suffering from malnutrition. in the UN-wide response and led efforts to
From 2000 to 2019, scaling up of coverage of malaria procure and supply COVID-19 vaccines so that all
prevention and treatment, such as insecticide-treated countries have fair and equitable access to the
nets, malaria rapid testing and drugs, reduced global vaccine as part of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global
malaria mortality by 60 per cent. Access Facility (COVAX).

2000s 2020s
2010s

A decade later, UNICEF took a leading role in But there is still much to do. Deeply ingrained
challenging systemic inequity around the world. In discrimination, poverty and inequality are leaving too
2015, the world began working toward a new global many children and young people behind. UNICEF
development agenda, seeking to achieve, by 2030, is dedicated to continuing to reach children from
new targets set out in the Sustainable Development the poorest, most disadvantaged households,
Goals (SDGs). communities and countries.

Photographs: top left © UNICEF/UN0519450/Upadhayay, top right © UNICEF/UN0528415/Sujan, bottom left © UNICEF/UNI187128/Noorani, bottom right © UNICEF/UN0546107/Contreras
14 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

Hamsatou, 13, washes

her hands at the
Socoura displacement
camp in Mopti, Mali.
© UNICEF/ UN0488966/ Keïta
 COVID-19’S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN 15

COVID-19’S ONGOING
IMPACT ON CHILDREN

Schools were closed worldwide for At the peak of the pandemic,

almost 80 per cent of the in-person 1.8 billion children lived in the
instruction time during the first year 104 countries where violence
of the pandemic. prevention and response
services were seriously
At its peak in March 2020, 1.6 billion learners disrupted.
(90 per cent of total learners worldwide) were
facing school closure.

The percentage of children living in multidimensional poverty is projected to have increased

from 46–48 per 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.

50 million children suffer By October 2020, the

from wasting, the most pandemic had disrupted or
life-threatening form of halted critical mental health
malnutrition. This figure could services in 93 per cent of
increase by 9 million by 2022 countries worldwide
because of the impact of the
pandemic.

Conflicts are increasingly In 2020, over 23 million

affecting civilians, children missed out on
disproportionately affecting essential vaccines, the
children, with women and girls highest number since 2009.
at increased risk of conflict-
related sexual violence.
16 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

POVERTY

The COVID-19 pandemic is reversing progress in the is a stark inequality. While richer countries seem to be
fight against child poverty. Although in much of the improving, the poverty rate is expected to increase in
world, child poverty levels in late 2021 are not as high low-income countries and least developed countries
as in the early months of the pandemic in 2020, it will compared to 2020.
take at least seven to eight years to recover and return
to pre-COVID-19 child poverty levels. Simply put, the In developing countries, the percentage of children
recovery is not fast enough. living in multidimensional poverty is projected to have
increased from 46–48 per cent pre-COVID-19 (around
UNICEF calculates child poverty by two distinct but 1 billion children) to around 52 per cent in 2021. This
complementary measures: children living in monetary is equivalent to a projected increase of 100 million
poor households and multidimensional poverty additional children living in poverty compared to 2019.
(deprivations in at least one of the following: education, In the least developed countries, the increase in
health, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water). poverty is projected to be even more dramatic, rising
from 48 per cent in 2019 to around 56 per cent in 2021
The percentage of children living in monetary poor (an increase of over 40 million children).
households is projected to have increased dramatically
in 2020 compared to 2019. While globally, 2021 is In addition, lower-income countries are recovering at
expected to see a modest decrease from 2020, there a slower pace and continue to have higher levels of

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
 COVID-19’S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN 17

FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2

The share of children living in monetary poor The rise in multidimensional poverty since
households is projected to continue rising in before the pandemic is expected to be more
low-income countries dramatic for the least-developed countries

Children living in monetary poor households (%) Children living in multidimensional poverty (%)

60 Low-income countries 60 Least-developed

countries
Least developed
countries Developing countries
Developing countries Non-least-developed
50 50 countries
Lower-middle-income
Non-least-developed
countries
Upper-middle-income
40 40

30 30

20
20

10
10

0
0
2019 2020 2021
2019 2020 2021

unemployment, prolonging the suffering of families and Some of this increase is projected to be reversed in
children. The unequal distribution of the COVID-19 shock 2021 as schools reopen and health services recover.
will likely deepen inequality between countries and However, as the pandemic continues, lagging and
particularly impact children living in low-income regions. cumulative effects of the economic disruption on
Children already living in monetary poverty are more nutrition are becoming evident, leading to a change
likely to suffer a greater depth of poverty, while a new in the composition of child poverty. These changes
pool of children is more likely to increase the prevalence include both a different set of children and different
of poverty due to the unemployment rate increase. problems. Underlying many of these challenges are
significant gaps in social protection. For example, only
Even before the pandemic, almost half of all 1 in 4 children have access to any form of child or
children in developing countries suffered at least family benefit.1
one severe deprivation such as education, health,
housing, nutrition, or water and sanitation. In 2020, 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
multidimensional poverty increased 15–18 per cent poverty and children living in monetary poor households carried out last
due to immediate impacts of COVID-19 such as school year by Save the Children and UNICEF, please see Impact of COVID-19
on children living in poverty: A Technical Note <www.unicef.org/reports/
closures and health services disruption. unicef-75-preventing-a-lost-decade>.
18 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

HEALTH AND IMMUNIZATION

According to data from the first quarter of 2021, more • Of those 23 million more than 60 per cent live in just
than half of respondent countries reported some level ten countries (Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic
of reduction in routine vaccination services compared of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Mexico,
to the same time in 2020 and more than one third Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines) and 17 million
of respondent countries reported disruptions to both of them did not receive any vaccines (zero-dose
routine facility-based and outreach immunization children).
services.
• Most of these children live in communities affected
Years of progress in childhood immunization were by conflict, under-served remote areas, or informal
eroded in less than two years of the pandemic: urban settings where they experience multiple
deprivations, including poor access to basic health
• In 2020, over 23 million children missed out on and social services.
essential vaccines – an increase of nearly 4 million
from 2019, and the highest number since 2009.

Rocham Dear holds her

disabled child at a UNICEF-
supported vaccination
and screening centre
in Ratanakiri province,
Cambodia.
© UNICEF/UN0403524/Raab
 COVID-19’S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN 19

EDUCATION

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
Children in school No. 78
from UNESCO, as of 31 October, 2021, an estimated
in Yerevan, Armenia wear
more than 55 million students are affected by school masks at school to protect
closures in 14 countries, without any in-person learning. themselves and others from
Low-income and lower-middle income countries have COVID-19.
been more affected by full school closures than upper- © UNICEF/UN0415007/Galstyan

middle income and high-income countries.

Richer schoolchildren have access to digital technology Disparities in access to the internet are even starker
that allows them to learn remotely, whereas children between rich and poor countries. Only 6 per cent of
from poorer households are at risk of falling further children and young people aged 25 years or younger in
behind in their education. The combination of low-income countries have internet access at home,
prolonged school closures and inadequate remote compared to 87 per cent in high-income countries.
learning could translate into substantial learning loss, Globally, among the richest 20 per cent of families,
further exacerbating the learning crisis. 58 per cent of children and young people aged 25 years
or younger have internet access at home compared to
Stark inequalities in internet access remain across and only 16 per cent of children and young people from the
within countries. Globally, 2.2 billion children and young poorest 20 per cent of households.
people aged 25 years or less – two thirds of children
and young people worldwide – do not have an internet
connection at home.
20 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

FIGURE 3 A higher percentage of in-person instruction time was disrupted by full school closures in low- and
lower-middle-income countries

Schools that are fully open Schools that are partially closed Schools that are fully closed

High income 29 51 21
BY INCOME GROUP

Upper-middle 27 33 40
income

Lower middle 13 34 53
income

Low income 36 22 42

World 22 35 43

South Asia 3 40 57

Latin America
3 18 79
and Caribbean

North America 0 97 3

Middle East and

24 25 51
BY REGION

North Africa

Eastern and 32 24 44
Southern Africa

East Asia
and Pacific 33 39 29

Eastern Europe
41 26 32
and Central Asia

West and
42 21 38
Central Africa

Western Europe 46 25 29

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.
 COVID-19’S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN 21

CHILD PROTECTION

Even before COVID-19, violence was all-too common increased rates of sexually transmitted infections,
in the lives of children, affecting at least 1 billion intergenerational poverty, and the disempowerment
children every year. All indications suggest that the of married girls. The pandemic is undoing years of
disruptions and public health measures associated progress in the fight against this practice. Up to
with the pandemic may have increased the frequency 10 million additional child marriages can occur before
and intensity of this violence. At the same time, the end of the decade as a result of the COVID-19
children have been cut off from many of the positive pandemic. Poverty reduction along with access to
and supportive relationships they rely on when in education and jobs are key to ending child marriage.
distress, including at school, in the extended family or
the community. At the peak of the pandemic, 1.8 billion Global progress to end child labour has stalled for
children lived in the 104 countries where violence the first time in 20 years. The latest global estimates
prevention and response services were seriously indicate that the number of children in child labour
disrupted. While the immediate health crisis will has risen to 160 million worldwide – an increase
eventually wane, the impact of violence and trauma of 8.4 million children in the last four years. At the
in childhood can last a lifetime including serious social beginning of 2020, 63 million girls and 97 million boys
and economic costs. were in child labour globally, accounting for almost
1 in 10 of all children worldwide. An additional 9 million
Child marriage is closely associated with lower children are at risk of being pushed into child labour by
educational attainment, early pregnancies, intimate the end of 2022 as a result of the increase in poverty
partner violence, maternal and child mortality, triggered by the pandemic.

Meimouna, 12 years old,

has everything to succeed.
A brilliant student, she gets
good marks and dreams of
becoming a teacher. However,
in the M’berra refugee camp,
Mauritania, where she lives, a
threat hangs over her future:
early marriage.
© UNICEF/UN0479231/Pouget
22 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

NUTRITION

The pandemic has harmed the nutrition, diets and

food security of children and adolescents, especially
for those living in poverty with multiple vulnerabilities.
Children’s diets have long been inadequate – only
29 per cent of children aged 6–23 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 children’s
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
Maria Méndez, 26, is feeding
these strategies increased from 62 per cent in August crushed bananas to her two-
2020 to 71 per cent in July 2021. year-old daughter Mariela in
Colotenango, Guatemala.

Lower dietary diversity. The pandemic has also © UNICEF/UN0515109/Volpe

affected the quality of children’s diets, dramatically

increasing their risk for micronutrient deficiencies. In
Sri Lanka, there was a reduction in the consumption 36 per cent reported an increase of sugary and junk
of flesh foods, dairy, pulses, and vitamin A rich foods food consumption since the beginning of lockdown in
among children 6–23 months old compared to data May 2020.
from November 2019.
Children have witnessed more ads for unhealthy
Children have consumed more processed foods. products in the media during the pandemic. A review
With more time spent at home due to social distancing of social media posts from Uruguay corroborates the
and mobility restrictions, children and their families digital marketing practices of food companies. More
have shifted their food consumption patterns, than a third (35 per cent) of their Facebook posts
often eating more unhealthy foods. For example, on ultra-processed products made reference to the
consumption of fruits declined by 30 per cent in Kenya COVID-19 pandemic as an ‘excuse’ to ‘stay home’ and
and Uganda compared to pre-COVID-19. In Zimbabwe, consume more of their products.
 23

In Lusikisiki Ngobozana, Eastern

Cape, South Africa, a caregiver
monitors Marlon’s 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 haven’t 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
24 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

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

MENTAL HEALTH

Even before the pandemic, in almost every country, By October 2020, the pandemic had disrupted or
mental health remains stigmatized and underfunded halted critical mental health services in 93 per cent
– and poor mental health is limiting the life chances of of countries worldwide, while the demand for mental
children and adolescents around the world. health support increased. National lockdowns have
piled pressure on vulnerable children, as well as
• More than 13 per cent of adolescents aged 10–19 parents and caregivers’ ability to protect and nurture
live with a diagnosed mental disorder. them.
• Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for
young people aged 15-19. According to UNICEF’s Changing Childhood project
• Half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years across 21 countries in the first half of 2021, 1 in 5
of age. young people reported often feeling depressed or
having little interest in doing things.
COVID-19 has exposed the extent and severity of
the mental health crisis. The disruption to routines, In fact, we won’t know the true impact of COVID-19 on
education, recreation, as well as concern for family children’s mental health for years.
income, health and increase in stress and anxiety, is
leaving many children and young people feeling afraid,
angry and concerned for their future.
 COVID-19’S ONGOING IMPACT ON CHILDREN 25

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

HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES

Current humanitarian trends are deeply concerning. On top of this, the worsening climate crisis is also
A steep rise in the number of countries and people a deepening child rights crisis. Increasingly severe
affected humanitarian crises, including natural and frequent weather events and natural disasters
disasters, armed conflict and infectious disease are exacerbating chronic vulnerabilities. Globally,
outbreak continues. United Nations inter-agency approximately 1 billion children – nearly half of the
appeals reflects the growing scale of humanitarian world’s children – live in countries that are at an
assistance and protection needs. In 2011, ‘extremely high-risk’ from the impacts of climate
14 consolidated appeals aimed to reach 112 million change.
people. By 2021, this number has grown to nearly
160 million 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.
26 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

A boy smiles at a learning

centre in Barranquilla,
Colombia, which provides
education to children
aged 6–15 who have been
displaced by violence and
are not enrolled in school.
© UNICEF/ UN0488971/Romero
 AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN 27

First in line for investment, last in line for cuts:

AN URGENT AGENDA
FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN

As when UNICEF was founded 75 years ago, the 1.

world needed solutions to heal divisions, harness Invest in social protection,
global progress, and protect and uphold universal human capital and spending
human rights. We believe just as firmly now as we for an inclusive and resilient
did 75 years ago that this starts with guaranteeing recovery.
the next generation a better life than the last.

We know what this world looks like. It is a world

2.
where we realize the Convention on the Rights
End the pandemic and
of the Child and the Sustainable Development
reverse the alarming
Goals in their entirety. Where we work together
rollback in child health and
to end the pandemic and reverse the potentially
nutrition – including through
devastating backslide in progress on child health and leveraging UNICEF’s vital
nutrition. Where we build back stronger by ensuring role in COVID-19 vaccine
quality education and mental health for every distribution.
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 3.
displacement. Build back stronger by
ensuring quality education,
The solutions below provide a clear roadmap protection, and good mental
towards this world. health for every child.

But this is only the beginning. We will only emerge

stronger by working together – governments, 4.
businesses, civil society, the public and – most of all Build resilience to better
– children and young people, to build a better future prevent, respond to, and
for every child. protect children from crises –
including new approaches to
end famines, protect children
from climate change, and
reimagine disaster spending.
28 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

1 INVEST IN SOCIAL PROTECTION,

HUMAN CAPITAL, AND SPENDING FOR
AN INCLUSIVE AND RESILIENT RECOVERY

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
 AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN 29

ENSURE AN INCLUSIVE RECOVERY FOR EVERY CHILD

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.

Economic crises are often followed by cuts to An inclusive recovery requires:

government spending, including on programmes for
children. If the world repeats this pattern in the wake of 1. Governments safeguarding critical social
COVID-19, poverty and deprivation among children will spending to ensure that social systems and
persist long after the immediate crisis has waned. interventions are protected from spending cuts
and expanded where inadequate.
To prevent a lost decade, it is essential that countries • All governments should identify and ring-fence
invest in children to achieve sustained, inclusive spending on programmes for children, adopting
economic growth and ensure they are prepared for the the principle of children being first in line for
global economy of the future. investment and last in line for cuts.
• Expand resilient social protection programmes
We urgently need an inclusive recovery plan to for the most vulnerable children, no matter their
reinstate the hard-won development gains of the past migration status, as well as families with children,
and avert the consequences of poverty for millions including working towards universal child benefits
more children and their families. and child-friendly services like affordable, quality
childcare.

2. Governments ensuring the best, most equitable,

A Rohingya refugee girl jumps
across a bridge in a large puddle
effective, and efficient use of financial resources
caused by recent rains in Balukhali across social sectors for human capital
camp for Rohingya refugees in development.
Cox’s Bazaar District, Bangladesh. • This includes ensuring that the recovery from
© UNICEF/UN0205640/Sokol 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.
30 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

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.

While talent is universal, for many, opportunities are

hard to come by. Governments and donors around
Often resilient, highly motivated and with
the world must do more to break down the barriers
experience overcoming adversity, migrant
standing in the way of this enormous potential to build
and displaced youth have the potential to
back stronger.
help solve some of our greatest challenges.
Unlocking the untapped potential of talent on
• McKinsey calculated that migrants
the move requires:
made up just 3.4 per cent of the world’s
population in 2015 but contributed nearly
• Governments removing barriers that prevent children
10 per cent of global gross domestic
and young people on the move accessing education,
product (GDP).
health and social protection. This includes opening
• Our own lives are touched every day
national schools to all children independent of
by inventions and products developed
migration status, abolishing school fees, establishing
by migrants or refugees. In 2017, nearly
scholarship programmes and paid traineeships, and
half of all Fortune 500 companies were
providing financial assistance for school supplies.
founded by American immigrants or
• Governments recognizing prior learning and
children of immigrants.
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 opportunities. This should be in a
language that youth on the move will understand
and communicated through channels they trust and
that are most accessible – for example, working
with diaspora communities, youth groups or social
A mother
holds her messaging apps.
child at a
temporary
health camp
in Nepal.
© UNICEF/
UNI187351/
Shrestha
 31

Manija (standing), 13, teaches an English

lesson in Lesvos, Greece, at the “School
of Stars”, which she runs with her
friend, Atefe in the Moria Reception and
Identification Centre, the largest camp
for refugees and migrants in Europe.

Both girls are of Afghan descent but

were born in the Islamic Republic of
Iran, where they lived until immigrating
with their families to Greece, with
hopes of obtaining refugee status in the
European Union. Manija says,
“Teaching is my passion. In the class
we provide masks to every student,
we suggest they wash their hands,
and we sanitize the air... I want to
grow up so I can be useful for the
community.”

From UNICEF and Magnum Photos’

Generation COVID photo project.

© UNICEF/UN0349604/Canaj/Magnum Photos
32 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

2 END THE PANDEMIC AND REVERSE

THE ALARMING ROLLBACK IN CHILD
HEALTH AND NUTRITION – INCLUDING
THROUGH LEVERAGING UNICEF’S VITAL
ROLE IN COVID-19 VACCINE DISTRIBUTION

Mg Thu Wai Htut (3 years old)

is being measured with a MUAC
tape as part of the Out-patient
Therapeutic Feeding Program at
Dagon Seikkan ward community
hall, Myanmar.

© UNICEF/UN0556774/Htet
 AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN 33

ENSURE FAIR AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO COVID-19 VACCINES

All people must have an equal opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine regardless of who they are, where
they live, or their migration status, nationality, gender, social status or ethnicity.

While the virus remains unchecked, it will continue to Reaching all people with the COVID-19 vaccine
mutate, cross borders, spread the disease, damage requires:
the global economy, and disrupt essential services
for children and young people. The longer we take to • Aid donors fully funding ACT-A and COVAX – a global
vaccinate everyone, the bigger the risk to the entire coalition of organizations developing and deploying
world and the harder it will be to prevent a lost decade. the new diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines
needed to end the worst impacts of the pandemic,
To slow the spread of COVID-19 and reduce its including providing support to country vaccine
devastating impact, all governments must take delivery.
concerted global action to ensure fair and equitable • Countries receiving more doses than needed
access to COVID-19 vaccines. Despite progress over to vaccinate their entire adult populations to
the past year, the rate of vaccination in low-income immediately loan, release, or donate most or all
countries is shockingly low. Wealthier countries excess doses to COVAX.
must step up to ensure the same inequities do not • All governments ensuring their vaccine strategies
characterize 2022. are inclusive – prioritizing the most vulnerable
regardless of their status and making an extra
This is not only the right thing to do, but it is also effort to reach these individuals and communities,
essential for global recovery efforts. Estimates suggest including refugees, migrants and internally displaced
that inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines could people.
cost the global economy $9.2 trillion. • Countries prioritizing vaccinations that will save lives,
protect public health services – starting with the
most vulnerable and frontline health workers, while
the number of available vaccines remain limited.

In addition to vaccination, measures such as informing

people about the disease, practicing social distancing,
and handwashing with soap must continue as critical
routes to control the spread of COVID-19.
34 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

PROTECT CHILDREN FROM DEADLY BUT TREATABLE DISEASES

The world faces a historic opportunity to both end the COVID-19 pandemic and set out a pathway for the
eradication of preventable diseases. But this requires a collective effort to reach every child and community
with vaccines and realize the right to primary health care for every person everywhere. This is the only way to
accelerate progress towards the Global Goal target of ending preventable child mortality.

Along with handwashing with soap, immunization is • Investing in Primary Health Care, including
unequivocally one of the most cost-effective public Community Health Care as a wrap-around package
health interventions: vaccines prevented 37 million covering health, nutrition and water and sanitation.
deaths over the last 20 years in middle- and low- • All governments developing and implementing
income countries. Yet in 2019, 7.4 million children, ambitious national plans to reach every child with
adolescents and young people died from preventable essential vaccines.
or treatable causes. • Prioritizing communities with ‘zero-dose’ children who
still go without basic, routine vaccines every year.
Reaching every child and community with vaccines • Ensuring current political commitments on
and health services requires: COVID-19 vaccines lead to investment in primary
health services that can reach every person in every
• Strengthening health systems in the poorest community.
countries by increasing targeted investment, • Building confidence in vaccines – both COVID-19 and
protecting aid budgets, and fulfilling existing the routine immunization that saves children’s lives –
commitments to support lifesaving child health with development actors, communities, governments,
services including routine immunization. and health care workers working together.

Karla Flores, 7, is vaccinated

during a mass vaccination
day in San Vicente
community, Miranda state,
the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela.

© UNICEF/UN0517742/Poveda
 AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN 35

REVERSE THE CHILD NUTRITION CRISIS

Ensuring every child has access to nutritious and safe diets is vital to ensure we genuinely build back stronger
from the pandemic and safeguard the health and well-being of future generations.

Poor nutritional intake in children’s earliest years can Just as the drivers of poor diets are multiple, so are
irreversibly harm their rapidly growing bodies and the solutions. To deliver nutritious, safe, and affordable
brains, impacting their schooling, job prospects, and diets to every child, governments, donors, civil
futures. society organizations and development actors must
work together to transform food, health, and social
While we have known this for years, there has been protection systems and to improve the prevention and
little progress on providing the right kind of nutritious treatment of the most severe forms of malnutrition.
and safe foods young children need for healthy
growth and development – and the ongoing impact of Delivering nutritious, safe and affordable diets to
COVID-19 disruptions risk making the situation much every child requires:
worse just when we urgently need things to improve.
• All with power and influence taking action to
increase the availability and affordability of nutritious
WHAT IS DRIVING THE NUTRITION foods – including fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy,
CRISIS? fish meat and fortified foods – by incentivizing
their production, making them more affordable and
accessible.
• Growing up in poverty. Families living
• Governments implementing national standards and
in low-income countries and low-
legislation to protect young children from unhealthy
income households often struggle to
processed and ultra-processed foods and to end
afford nutritious and safe foods for their
harmful marketing of unhealthy food and drink
children, including fruits, vegetables, milk,
targeting children and families.
fish, eggs and meat.
• Governments and development actors renewing
• Conflict, climate change and the
action to end child wasting – including training
COVID-19 pandemic are also playing a
community workers and caregivers to detect the
major role in making nutritious and safe
early signs of wasting; concerted and localized
foods less available and affordable to
action to prevent wasting in hotspot areas; and
millions of young children.
mobilizing new funding for life-saving treatment,
• The abundance of nutrient-poor and
including ready to use therapeutic foods.
cheap processed foods rich in sugar,
• Development and humanitarian donors – at a
salt and unhealthy fats. Junk food is
minimum – doubling their financial commitments
ubiquitous both in large cities and in
to fighting child malnutrition and committing to the
rural areas and is often accompanied by
solutions we know work.
misleading marketing strategies targeting
children and families.
36 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

3 BUILD BACK STRONGER BY ENSURING

QUALITY EDUCATION, PROTECTION AND
GOOD MENTAL HEALTH FOR EVERY CHILD

Caio, 12, completes a lesson in a

workbook at his home in Itacaré, Brazil.

Caio’s teachers organized support

sessions with virtual classrooms,
but with no internet at home and no
smartphone or computer at his disposal,
he has been unable to join online
activities. Left alone with all this work
and without the support structure of
school, he finds it almost impossible to
keep up with his studies. The pandemic
has exacerbated gaps in education
equity, setting Caio further back in what
was already a critical year for his studies.

From UNICEF and Magnum Photos’

Generation COVID photo project.

© UNICEF/UNI377424/De Middel/Magnum Photos

 AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN 37

RESUME IN-PERSON LEARNING AND IMPROVE QUALITY EDUCATION

FOR EVERY CHILD

The pandemic upended education for millions of children. Even before COVID-19, the world was grappling with a
learning crisis. We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix this crisis – starting with getting children
back to school.

Access to quality education is both a right and a crucial Ensuring access to quality education for every
opportunity for every child. Basic literacy and numeracy child requires:
are a prerequisite for quality learning. These skills
ensure children can thrive in primary and secondary • Protecting education budgets in the face of the
education and transition to the workplace. economic impact of COVID-19, and prioritizing the
most vulnerable children, not only for the sake of the
Investment in pre-primary education, particularly for current generation of children, but also for the future
marginalized children and those affected by learning workforce, economic growth and social cohesion.
poverty, can transform the lives of children, their • Aiding teachers and facilitators to deliver solid
families, and their communities. Access to digital foundational literacy and numeracy.
learning in low- and middle-income countries can also • Prioritizing school reopening and providing enough
act as a great equalizer. support to teachers and schools to make this viable.
• Governments and private sector donors allocating at
To address the learning crisis, we must therefore least 10 per cent of their education budget, or aid,
ensure every student gains the skills to reach their full to pre-primary education. This will ensure children
potential, including through quality digital learning. arrive at school ready to learn.
• Developing lasting solutions at scale with
partnerships between the private sector,
governments and other partners to connect every
child and young person – some 3.5 billion – to
the internet by 2030. This means every corporate
provider of digital learning increasing access to their
content and platforms; the international community
– particularly the private sector – lowering the cost
of digital devices; all Mobile Network Operators
developing solutions to allow digital learning content
to be accessed anywhere; and every government
creating opportunities for young people to play a part
in reimagining education.
• Ceasing all attacks on schools, and respecting and
protecting education personnel. Member States
must endorse and advocate for other states to
endorse the Safe Schools Declaration, and put in
place the necessary measures to ensure its full and
Students use laptop computers
effective implementation.
provided by UNICEF during
learning skills activities at the
Al-Nasr secondary school in
Sana’a Governorate, Yemen.

© UNICEF/ UNI346679/Alansi
38 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

INVEST IN THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN

AND YOUNG PEOPLE

With children and young people facing so many challenges to their mental well-being, the pandemic is a vital
moment to drive transformative action on mental health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored just how Protecting and supporting the mental health of
critical mental health and well-being are for all children, every child and young person requires:
adolescents, caregivers and families, in all countries.
The pandemic has also highlighted the fragility of • Governments investing in more and better
support systems for mental health in many countries, protection, mental health and psychosocial support
and once again underlined how these hardships services across all sectors and community services.
fall disproportionately on the most disadvantaged • Governments and relevant national and local
communities. services supporting families by scaling up parenting
programmes that promote responsive, nurturing
The most marginalized and discriminated against caregiving and support parent and caregiver well-
children and adolescents, including those exposed being and mental health.
to poverty, violence, neglect, or living through • Governments reinforcing education and community
humanitarian crises and displacement, are at the care providers to ensure that all schools support
highest risk of mental health concerns. But they are mental health through quality services and positive
also the least likely to have access to support. relationships, and that children and adolescents
learn and interact in safe and secure environments,
While the long-term impact of the pandemic on both on and offline.
children’s mental health remains unclear, the global • All relevant actors responding to abuse and neglect,
recovery offers a rare opportunity to overturn the ensuring children and their families have access to
mental health crisis. response services, care and justice and prevent
reoccurrence.
Early prevention is key. It has the potential to break • Governments and relevant national and local
the inter-generational cycle of poor mental health and services playing an active role in addressing
transform mental health outcomes for current and stigma and promoting better understanding of
future generations. mental health. This will partly be achieved through
meaningfully involving children and young people
To emerge stronger from the pandemic and guarantee in the design and implementation of policies and
every child a better future, governments must invest programmes.
in quality support to protect children from neglect and
abuse and promote the mental health of all children
and young people, with a particular focus on ending
the childhood adversities that drive poor mental health
outcomes.
 AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN 39

“Some girls did not go back to school after COVID-19 because they are afraid…
The pandemic changed my way of seeing the world because, now I find that the
world is not as calm and stable as it used to be…. My wish for all girls in Chad is
that I ask the girls to fight for their future.”

Laetitia, Chad. From UNICEF’s Coping with COVID, season 2.

Girls in the village of Alibeit,

in southern Chad.
© UNICEF/UN0291831/Frank Dejongh

© UNICEF/UN0469276/Dejongh
40 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on 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
A toxic combination of conflict, climate change and COVID-19 are deepening humanitarian crises,
entrenching inequality, and pushing us further from the realization of child rights and the ambition
of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Telma, 36, here with her three

children, benefitted from assistance
during the COVID-19 confinement
via the Bono Familia emergency
cash transfer programme, developed
by the Government of Guatemala
with the support of UNICEF and the
World Bank.
© UNICEF/UNI388999/Mussapp
 AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN 41

WHY DO WE NEED A NEW APPROACH TO TACKLING CRISES?

A plane carrying nine tons of UNICEF medical

supplies arrives in Tocumen International Airport,
Panama, to continue supporting the response
against COVID-19 in the region. The supplies will
be prepositioning at the regional humanitarian
warehouse and distributed to Latin America and
the Caribbean countries.
© UNICEF/UNI346302/Amador

• Hunger is on the rise. Nearly one tenth of the • More children displaced than ever before. Last
world population – up to 811 million people – went year, more than 82 million people worldwide
hungry in 2020. And famine, which should be were forcibly displaced. A shocking 42 per cent
consigned to history, looms again. were children. Disasters, many driven by climate
• The last 10 years were the hottest on record change, water scarcity and conflict were amongst
and the number of climate-related disasters the biggest drivers.
has tripled in the last 30 years. These disasters • War continues to take a devastating toll on
have a disproportionate impact on the most civilians including children. As well as forcing
vulnerable children and families – threatening food families from their home, attacks on children,
security, increasing water scarcity, forcing people including civilian infrastructure critical for their
from their homes, and increasing the risk of survival, are continuing at an alarming rate. In
conflict and public health emergencies. 2020, the United Nations verified a total of 23, 946
• Today, over 400 million children live in areas violations against children in conflict situations.
of high or extremely high-water vulnerability. This corresponds to 72 violations occurring every
This is likely to worsen as climate change single day or three violations every hour.
increases frequency and severity of droughts,
water stress, seasonal and interannual variability, The world was not ready for COVID-19 – and too slow
contamination – and demand and competition for to respond to many other climate- and conflict-related
water increases. disasters of the past few years. Millions of children are
at imminent risk if we fail to respond to these needs
urgently and unswervingly.
42 Preventing a lost decade: Urgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people

© UNICEF/UN0542110/Bashizi © UNICEF/ UN055819/Sokhin

CONSIGN FAMINE AND FOOD URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT

INSECURITY TO HISTORY CHILDREN FROM CLIMATE
CHANGE AND SLOW THE
We need a global plan of action and accountability to DEVASTATING RISE IN GLOBAL
consign famine to history once and for all.
TEMPERATURES

Global climate change is real and happening now. It is

This means: a threat to all children, everywhere. Current targets
• Investing in longer-term, preventative, multipronged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the only way to
approaches that go beyond food aid and prioritize avert the worse impacts of the climate crisis, fall short.
children as the most severely affected by these
crises.
• But ultimately, we must recognize famines Protecting children from the already changing
for what they are: political crises that require climate and averting the worst impacts of the
political solutions. We need the collective will and climate crisis requires:
accountability to ensure that governance failures • Governments laying out a roadmap that will cut
are addressed long before famine takes hold, emissions to ‘Net Zero’ by 2050.
humanitarian access is sustained, and the laws and • Urgently increasing investment in climate
norms of conflict are upheld. adaptation and resilience in key social services for
children including critical services in WASH, health,
and food systems, so they are more sustainable
and low carbon and resilient to the impacts of
climate disasters. This also includes providing
children with climate education and greens skills,
critical for their adaptation to and preparation for the
effects of climate change.
• Ensuring that children’s rights and needs are at the
center of climate and environmental policy, and that
they are consulted and heard in decision-making
that directly affects them.
• Governments formally including young people
in all national, regional, and international climate
negotiations and decisions, including in emerging
scientific and policy discussions on climate-related
mobility; children and young people on the move
must have a seat at the table in climate change
processes at all levels.
 AN URGENT AGENDA FOR ACTION FOR CHILDREN 43

© UNICEF/UN0505792/Rouzier © UNICEF/UN0460328/Al-Basha

REIMAGINE DISASTER REDOUBLE EFFORTS TO

SPENDING PROTECT CHILDREN IN WAR

A broad re-thinking of how we approach Conflicts are the leading cause of humanitarian crises
humanitarian financing is needed to sustain these globally and progress in most countries affected by
changes. conflict has stagnated or reversed.

Being properly prepared for the next crises and Ensuring peace and protection for every child
spending money in a way that protects the most requires:
at risk children requires: • Humanitarian donors and actors investing in child-
• First and foremost, donors must keep their inclusive peacebuilding locally, nationally, and
promises on humanitarian funding so we can internationally and at a minimum reaffirming the
save lives and avert a lost generation. This means need for a temporary ceasefire to support safe,
flexible, long-term humanitarian funding now and effective, and inclusive COVID-19 vaccine delivery
avoiding donor conditionalities that may impede and pandemic response and recovery efforts. Peace
access to life-saving support. is the best protection.
• Donors should commit to pre-arranged finance so • All actors with influence increasing pressure on
humanitarian and development organizations like parties to conflict to end grave violations against
UNICEF can mobilize resources much more quickly, children in war, including those that prolong war and
well before devastating and irreversible damage to exacerbate food insecurity and famine. This should
children occur. include a robust political declaration to avoid the
• And we cannot wait to better protect and support use of explosive weapons in populated areas and
children and their communities. All humanitarian renewed efforts to reintegrated children into their
actors must ensure the meaningful participation communities after displacement or conflict.
of vulnerable countries and vulnerable groups • All parties to conflict redoubling efforts to both
and communities within these countries in future respect and ensure respect for international
humanitarian planning. humanitarian law and all with influence must
condemn any action or inaction in conflict that
prevents children and their communities from
accessing food, safe water and sanitation, and other
urgent relief in conflict.
FOR EVERY CHILD
Whoever she is.
Wherever he lives.
Every child deserves a childhood.
A future.
A fair chance.
That’s why UNICEF is there.
For each and every child.
Working day in and day out.
In more than 190 countries and territories.
Reaching the hardest to reach.
The furthest from help.
The most excluded.
It’s why we stay to the end.
And never give up.

© UNICEF/ UN0488988
Photograph on front cover: © UNICEF/ UN0488988

Published by UNICEF © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Division of Global Communication December 2021
and Advocacy
3 United Nations Plaza Photograph on front cover:
New York, NY 10017, USA © UNICEF/UNI355816/Panjwani
[email protected] ISBN: 978-92-806-5310-6
www.unicef.org