TheCable

Henrietta Fore, executive director of the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), says as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, 140 million children are likely to fall below the poverty line with their families.

The global poverty line is currently set at $1.90 per day.

Speaking during a panel session at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings on Friday, Fore said women and children are major victims of the coronavirus pandemic.

She said participation of women in paid work has dropped significantly, while attendance of many female children in school is yet to be guaranteed.

The UNICEF boss disclosed that 168 million children have been out of school for nine months, adding that several children do not have means of participating in remote learning.

“The participation of women in paid work is reducing around the world. We are concerned about women unemployment and we are very concerned about all of the services that women and children usually access in their normal lives. They are either not able to get them or the services are no longer available,” she said.

“The World Bank has been talking about world poverty. We have around 140 million children that are likely to fall below the poverty line with their families. 168 million children have been out of school for more than nine months, and one out of three children do not have access to any form of remote learning now that many children are getting their education online either through a cellphone, a tablet, or through a radio or television.

“So often, it is the woman in the household who becomes not just a parent but a teacher, and it is very difficult for her to then be out of the home to get a job. We are also very worried that many children will not go back to school, particularly girls.”

The World Bank projects that 150 million people could fall back into poverty in 2021.