CNBC: At least 24 million students could drop out of school due to the coronavirus pandemic, U.N. says
“The disruption to schools caused by the coronavirus pandemic constitutes a ‘global education emergency’ that threatens to derail the education of at least 24 million students projected to drop out of school as a result, said Henrietta Fore, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund…” (Feuer, 9/16).

The Telegraph: Schools should only close as a ‘last resort,’ WHO insists
“Schools should only close as a last resort, the head of the World Health Organization has said, as research shows that half of students around the world have still not returned to the classroom. … [T]he latest data show that 872 million children in 51 countries are still unable to go back to the classroom. And one in four countries have not yet specified a date for when schools will reopen…” (Gulland, 9/15).

U.N. News: More research needed into COVID-19 effects on children, says WHO head
“More research is needed into factors that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 disease among children and adolescents, the head of the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) has said, adding that while children may have largely been spared many of the most severe effects, they have suffered in other ways…” (9/16).

Additional coverage of U.N. agencies’ and officials’ comments on COVID-19 among children and other issues related to the pandemic is available from CIDRAP News, Devex, NPR, Reuters (2), and Xinhua.