CNN: Pandemic could push an additional 120 million children in South Asia into poverty, says UNICEF
“An additional 120 million children in South Asia could be pushed into poverty due to the continuing spread of coronavirus throughout much of the region, according to a new report released by the United Nations children’s agency. South Asia, which is home to roughly one quarter of the world’s population, has seen a rapid acceleration in the number of people infected with the virus in recent weeks, with India’s total caseload rising to more than 440,000. The UNICEF report, titled, ‘Lives upended: How COVID-19 threatens the futures of 600 million South Asian children,’ notes that while children are less susceptible to the virus itself, they are being severely impacted by the fallout, ‘including the economic and social consequences of the lockdown and other measures taken to counter the pandemic’…” (Gupta, 6/23).

Devex: New UNESCO report shows COVID-19 leaving vulnerable children behind
“The ‘2020 Global Education Monitoring Report,’ released June 23 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, shows progress is slowing on the global out-of-school rate for primary and secondary school-age children, and COVID-19 will only make it worse. According to the report, an estimated 258 million children are out of school — and 97 million of these are in sub-Saharan Africa, and that number is growing. This means that by 2050, more than one in 10 adults in the region will not have completed primary education…” (Cornish, 6/23).

Global Citizen: Economic Fallout From COVID-19 Could Thrust Hundreds of Millions More Into Poverty: Report
“A new study has shown that the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic could thrust hundreds of millions more into extreme poverty, bringing the total number to over 1 billion worldwide and reversing decades of progress on poverty reduction. In the study, researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and King’s College London used data from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Goldman Sachs, International Monetary Fund, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to consider various possible economic scenarios…” (Keck, 6/23).

Additional coverage of the UNICEF report is available from The Telegraph and U.N. News.