UN urges world to act urgently to mitigate COVID-19 costs for all children

The United Nations on Thursday urged the international community to act urgently, and collectively, to mitigate the costs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to all children across the world.

"This is a universal crisis of unprecedented scale. All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are affected," the world body said in a policy brief virtually launched by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"However, some children are destined to bear the greatest costs. Among those who will be badly hit are children living in slums, refugee and displacement camps, and zones of active conflict. Children with disabilities. Children living in institutions and detention centers," it said.

According to the policy brief, 188 countries have imposed countrywide school closures, affecting more than 1.5 billion children and youth.

"Nearly 369 million children across 143 countries who normally rely on school meals for a reliable source of daily nutrition must now look to other sources," it said.

"Hundreds of thousands of additional children could die this year, compared to a pre-pandemic scenario, as a result of the looming global recession. This would effectively reverse the last two to three years of progress in reducing infant mortality within a single year," it noted.