UN Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Children

Q. Why is this in news?

A. UN Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on Children released recently says almost 24 million children could drop out or not have access to school next year due to the economic impact of Covid-19.

Q. What are few main findings of report?

A. It talks about impact of Covid-19 on children :

Impact:

The Covid-19 pandemic will impact the children all over the world in multiple ways:

On Economic: An estimated 42-66 million children could fall into extreme poverty as a result of pandemic
The economic loss might reach 16,000 USD of lost earnings over a student’s lifetime, translating over time into 10 trillion USD of lost earnings globally.
On Learning: 188 countries have imposed countrywide school closures, affecting more than 1.5 billion children and youth.
More than two-thirds of countries have introduced a national distance learning platform, but among low-income countries the share of distance learning is only 30%.
Online learning is not accessible for poor children, children from remote and conflict areas and children with disabilities.
A loss of learning by one-third (equivalent to a three-month school closure) during Grade 3 might result in 72% of students falling so far behind that by Grade 10 they will have dropped out or will not be able to learn anything in school.
On Survival: Economic hardship experienced by families as a result of the global economic downturn could result in hundreds of thousands of additional child deaths in 2020,
This will reverse the last 2 to 3 years of progress in reducing infant mortality within a single year.
On Health: Rising malnutrition is expected as 368.5 million children across 143 countries rely on school meals for a reliable source of daily nutrition.
On Safety: Lockdowns and shelter in place measures come with heightened risk of children witnessing or suffering violence and abuse.
There is a reduced access to essential reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health interventions.
Suspension of all polio vaccination campaigns worldwide and measles immunization campaigns in at least 23 countries will set back the decades-long effort to eliminate these diseases.
The effects of physical distancing measures and movement restrictions on children’s mental health represent another cause for concern.
Children’s reliance on online platforms for distance learning has also increased their risk of exposure to inappropriate content and online predators.
Susceptibility to child marriage, early pregnancy and gender-based violence will also increase.

Q. Does it said anything about gender inequality?

A. Yes, According to it :

The impact of Covid-19 is going to be more damaging for girls than boys, widening gender inequality.
Earlier this year, the Global Education Monitoring Report, 2020 was released by UNESCO also highlighted that the Covid-19 had worsened the inequalities in education systems worldwide.