333 million children live in extreme poverty: UNICEF

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a sharp slowdown in the fight to end child poverty, with 333 million children still living in extreme poverty, according to a report published on Wednesday, September 13.

The report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank found that the pandemic led to the abolition of extreme poverty for 30 million fewer children than was previously predicted. As a result, around one in six children still live on less than $2.15 per day, according to the report.

“Compounding crises, from the impacts of Covid-19, conflict, climate change and economic shocks, have stalled progress, and left millions of children in extreme poverty,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.