Children sit in a bomb shelter located in the basement of kindergarten in Odessa during an educational air raid alarm and safety lesson organized by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on September 12, 2022. AFP
PARIS 鈥� Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic fallout have thrown four million children into poverty across eastern Europe and Central Asia, the UN children鈥檚 agency said Monday.
鈥淐hildren are bearing the heaviest burden of the economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine,鈥� Unicef said.
The conflict 鈥渁nd rising inflation have driven an additional four million children across eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty, a 19 percent increase since 2021鈥�, it said.
Unicef drew its conclusions from a study of data from 22 countries.
Russian and Ukrainian children have been most affected since Moscow鈥檚 attack on its neighbor in February.
鈥淩ussia 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,鈥� Unicef found.
The blow to Russia鈥檚 economy from Western sanctions combined with its large population to produce the outsize effect.
鈥淯kraine is home to half a million additional children living in poverty, the second largest share,鈥� Unicef added.
Romania followed closely behind, with a further 110,000 children in poverty.
鈥淐hildren all over the region are being swept up in this war鈥檚 terrible wake,鈥� said Unicef regional director for Europe and Central Asia, Afshan Khan.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 support these children and families now, the steep rise in child poverty will almost certainly result in lost lives, lost learning, and lost futures.鈥�
The poorer a family is, the greater the proportion of its income it must spend on food and fuel, leaving less for children鈥檚 healthcare and education, the agency explained.
They are also 鈥渕ore at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse鈥�.
This could well translate into an additional 4,500 children dying before their first birthdays, and an additional 117,000 children dropping out of school this year alone, Unicef said.
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