UNICEF: Ukraine war pushes 4 million children into poverty

• UNICEF: Fighting in Ukraine has pushed an extra four million youngsters into poverty across eastern Europe and Central Asia.
• Russia accounts for nearly three-quarters of the total increase in the number of children living in poverty.
• Children from Russia and Ukraine have suffered the hardest since Moscow’s war on its neighbor in February.

Monday, the UNICEF agency reported that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the subsequent economic ramifications have plunged four million children into poverty across eastern Europe and Central Asia.

UNICEF stated, “Children are bearing the heaviest burden of the economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.”

Since 2021, the fighting and rising inflation have pushed an extra four million youngsters in eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty, a 19 percent increase.

UNICEF obtained its conclusions from an analysis of information from 22 nations.

Children from Russia and Ukraine have suffered the hardest since Moscow’s war on its neighbor in February.

“Russia accounts for nearly three-quarters of the total increase in the number of children living in poverty due to the Ukraine war and a cost-of-living crisis across the region, with an additional 2.8 million children now living in households below the poverty line,” UNICEF found.

The impact of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy, combined with the country’s enormous population, produced a disproportionate effect.

“Ukraine is home to half a million additional children living in poverty, the second largest share,” UNICEF added.

Romania followed closely with 110,000 additional children living in poverty.

Afshan Khan, regional director for Europe and Central Asia at UNICEF, stated, “Children all over the region are being swept up in this war’s terrible wake.”

“If we don’t support these children and families now, the steep rise in child poverty will almost certainly result in lost lives, lost learning, and lost futures.”

The organization explained that the poorer a family is, the bigger amount of its income it must spend on food and fuel, leaving less for children’s healthcare and education.

Additionally, they are “more at risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse.”

UNICEF estimates that this might result in an additional 4,500 children dying before their first birthday and 117,000 youngsters dropping out of school only this year.

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