Coronavirus forces 150 million children into poverty, UN says

Not only are more children experiencing poverty than before, but the poorest children are getting poorer, writes Kate Ng

A child sits inside a home on a piece of land in the town of Guernica, 30 km from the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina (EPA)

The number of children plunged into poverty due to the coronavirus pandemic has increased by 150 million, analysis by Unicef and Save the Children has found.

The increase in the number of children living in deprivation in low and middle-income countries means the total has soared to approximately 1.2 billion children.

According to the charities, 45 per cent of children were severely deprived of at least one of six critical needs, which include education, healthcare, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water, in 70 countries analysed before the pandemic hit.