In 2021, as UNICEF celebrated its 75th year, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to reverberate around the world. The compounding impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict and climate change have had, and continue to have, a devastating impact on child poverty, and its effects will be felt for many years. 2021 estimates suggest that the number of children experiencing multidimensional poverty will increase by a staggering 100 million, with an additional 60 million children living in monetary poverty. This represents the first global increase in poverty for two decades, and compounds child poverty rates that are already high. 

UNICEF continued to play a prominent role in supporting countries in the analysis, monitoring, of child poverty and its prioritization in national strategies, in addition to its convening role across all country contexts. Social protection has continued to be a central pillar of UNICEF’s response to the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19. UNICEF has helped governments to build inclusive and shock-responsive social protection systems as part of the COVID-19 response in over 115 countries. In a very complex financing context, UNICEF worked to re-affirm its critical role in financing the inclusive recovery agenda at global level and continued to provide technical assistance to countries around overall social spending, and to the sectors. 

Full UNICEF report. Source: press release