One in six of the world’s children live on less than USD$2.15 a day, warned a new joint study by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank.

This index means that 333 million children face a context in which they lack food, sanitation, housing, medical care and necessary education.

The situation has worsened with the stagnation of the crackdown on extreme poverty, estimated at three years lost as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A few days before the High Level Segment of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), to be held upcoming week, the report warned global leaders that, if the current pace is maintained, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ending extreme child poverty by 2030 will not be met.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said progress has so far showed that, with the right investments, millions of children can be lifted out of what is often considered as a vicious poverty cycle.

Despite this progress, however, crises worsened by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict, climate change and economic crises have stalled progress and left millions of children in extreme poverty, Russel added.

In this regard, UNICEF´s report proposed several pressing steps for governments and other relevant actors to act in order to eradicate extreme poverty and reverse current context.

It also recognized the need to continuously step up efforts on children living in extreme poverty in low and low-middle income countries and in fragile or unstable contexts, as well as to draw up public policies to reach large households with young children and those in rural areas.

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