Children

DRIVER: 65% of children entering primary schools today will ultimately work in new job types and functions that currently don't exist. And, the pressure to perform and be tech savvy will only increase inexorably. Discover how your children's early lives will change and how you can help them live fruitful and happy lives into adulthood.

• [New] UNICEF foresees that this year some 15% of children (672 million) will be below the poverty line, and calculates that child malnutrition will affect 10 million little ones.
• 85% of jobs predicted for 2030 had not been invented as of 2019: Children entering primary school today might work in jobs in the future that do not exist today.
• The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children warned that if urgent measures are not taken, the number of children living in poverty across low- and middle-income countries could increase by 86 million, a 15% jump, by the end of the year.
• An extra 1.1 million people, including 200,000 children, could drop below the poverty line by the end of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Within 10 years, and for the first time, there will be more elderly (65+ years) than children and teenagers (0-19 years), with the trend towards an ever-older population set to continue throughout the century.
• Routine vaccinations for young children in the United States fell during the first half of this year as more Americans skipped routine doctor visits and stayed home due to the coronavirus pandemic: The CDC warned that measles outbreaks could result from fewer vaccinations.
• Older adults (> 65 years) are the fastest-growing segment of the population, estimated to account for more than 25% of the total population by 2050 and outnumbering the youngest segment of children under the age of 15 years by 2045.
• The number of newborn babies in the US has dropped to the lowest level in 35 years, with experts estimating that Covid-19 could decrease numbers still further.
• The UK Government has announced a funding pledge equivalent of £330 million a year over the next five years to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which will help fund immunisation of 75 million children in the world's poorest countries.
• The world is at risk of a surge in measles deaths, with around 117 million children set to miss out on their measles vaccine this year due to the international coronavirus lockdown.
• Supporting delivery of SDG 4 by promoting 12 years of quality education for all children, especially girls, by 2030 is a top priority for the UK Government.
• The Government will provide $2.4 million over four years from 2019-20 to extend the removal of Higher Education Loan Program debt for teachers working in very remote locations of Australia to include early childhood teachers.
• Over the next 5 years, children who reported a psychotic experience had an approximate threefold increased risk to receive a psychiatric diagnosis in child and adolescent mental health services.
• At the UN High-Level Meeting on TB in 2018, world leaders committed to providing TB preventive therapy to at least 30 million people, including 6 million people living with HIV, by 2022, 4 million children under 5 years and 20 million household contacts.
• The UK Government Manifesto maintains spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA and pledges to end the preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children by 2030 and lead the way in eradicating Ebola and malaria.
• By 2050 there will be more than twice as many people over 65 as there are children under 5, and the number of people 65 years of age or older globally will surpass the number of people 15 to 24 years of age.
• The Home Office will be providing £7.8 million in emergency support for charities helping vulnerable children who have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
• The UK department for Education will provide £26.4 million to support vulnerable children, including support for families of disabled children and working to safeguard vulnerable children including care leavers and children in the early years.
• World leaders have pledged to eliminate violence against women and girls, FGM and child marriage, as well as ensure universal access to family planning by 2030, under the sustainable development goals.
• The disruption to programmes to prevent child marriage will result in an additional 13 million children being married over the next decade.
• California could end child poverty in that state by spending only $2.8 billion a year, one quarter of what it spends annually on its prisons.

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Last updated: 09 July 2020