According to a study by the UN children's aid organization Unicef, the corona pandemic has plunged an additional 100 million children worldwide into poverty.
That was ten percent more than in 2019 within less than two years, the organization reported on Thursday.
Even before the pandemic, one billion children worldwide did not have sufficient access to education, health care, shelter, food, sanitation or clean water.
There has never been such a crisis in the 75 years since Unicef was founded.
"As the number of children starving, out of school, molested, living in poverty or being forced into marriage increases, the number of children who have access to health care, vaccines, adequate food and essential services is falling," shared Unicef boss Henrietta Fore with. In the best case scenario, it will take seven to eight years for the setbacks to be made up for in many areas.
At times, 1.6 billion children did not go to school during the Corona period due to lockdowns.
Almost 80 percent of face-to-face classes were canceled last year.
According to the latest estimates, 160 million minors would have to work, an increase of 8.4 million in four years.
By the end of 2022, there is a risk that another nine million minors will end up in child labor because they have to contribute to the livelihood of their families.
An additional ten million girls could be married off early by 2030 because of the poverty of their families.
Unicef calls for resolute countermeasures from governments and the global community to get young people back into schools and training and to ensure their health care.