A Future At Risk
The UK's role in addressing the impact of COVID-19
on children's right to health
Our new report highlights the impact of Covid-19 on children’s health and education
Covid-19 is the greatest threat to child rights in a lifetime.
The future of a generation of children is at risk, and their rights and opportunities hang in the balance as the world adjusts to, and plans its recovery from, the pandemic.
Children’s access to education and essential health services are critical to realising their full potential, enabling them to live a happy and opportunity-rich life. These two rights are inextricably linked, and neither can be progressed in isolation from the other. Yet right now both are under immense strain that could hold back a generation.
Health
Even before the pandemic, 2.5 million children under-five died every six months. Now, disruptions to health systems and reduced access to food could mean 6,000 children die every day in 6 months.
Education
The coronavirus pandemic came on top of a learning crisis, one that already saw 258 million children out-of-school. As school doors shuttered and 1.5 billion learners were sent home to learn, millions of children missed out on education. To mitigate the impacts of lost learning, the UK Government must put the right to education at the heart of Covid-19 recovery.
The impacts of coronavirus – a blog by young people
“One unifying factor in this pandemic is education; the disruption of schools and classrooms has been felt all around the world. “
Members of our Unicef UK Youth Advisory Board have written a blog about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on children and young people around the world.