Number of children lacking critical social protection rising globally: UN report

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – The number of children without access to social protection is increasing year-on-year, leaving them at risk of poverty, hunger, and discrimination, a report released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and UNICEF said Wednesday.

Failing to provide children with adequate social protection leaves them vulnerable to poverty, disease, missed education, and poor nutrition, increasing their risk of child marriage and child labor, according to the UN agencies.

The report was an urgent need to build universal social protection for children, warning that an additional 50 million children aged 0-15 missed out on a critical social protection provision – specifically, child benefits (paid in cash or tax credits) – between 2016 and 2020.

The lack of coverage increased the number of children missing protection to 1.46 billion.

"Ultimately, strengthened efforts to ensure adequate investment in universal social protection for children, ideally through universal child benefits to support families at all times, is the ethical and rational choice, and the one that paves the way to sustainable development and social justice," said Shahra Razavi, director of the ILO's Social Protection Department.

The report found that child and family benefit coverage rates fell or stagnated in every region worldwide between 2016 and 2020, leaving no country on track to achieve the sustainable development goal of achieving substantial social protection coverage by 2030.

For example, coverage fell significantly from approximately 51% to 42% in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In many other regions, coverage has stalled and remains low.

Since 2016, in Central Asia and Southern Asia, coverage is at 21%, in Eastern Asia and Southeastern Asia at 14%, in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is at 11%, and in Western Asia and Northern Africa, coverage is at 28%.

Globally, children are twice as likely as adults to live in extreme poverty – those struggling to survive on less than $1.90 for each person a day – approximately 356 million children.

- 1B children in poverty

According to the authors, 1 billion children also live in multidimensional poverty – meaning without access to education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation, or water.

Children living in multidimensional poverty increased by 15% during the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing previous progress in reducing child poverty and highlighting the urgent need for social protection.

Moreover, the pandemic highlighted that social protection is a critical response in times of crisis.

Nearly every government rapidly adapted existing schemes or introduced new social protection programs to support children and families, yet most fell short of making permanent reforms to protect against future shocks.

"As families face increasing economic hardship, food insecurity, conflict, and climate-related disasters, universal child benefits can be a lifeline," said Natalia Winder-Rossi, UNICEF's director of social policy and social protection program.

"There is an urgent need to strengthen, expand and invest in child-friendly and shock-responsive social protection systems," which is essential to protect children from poverty and increase resilience, especially in the poorest households.