A quarter of the world’s children will live in poverty this yearas the war in Ukraine raised food and energy priceswarned today NGO KidsRightsbased in the Netherlands.

The KidsRights ranking, based on data recorded by UN agenciesalso shows that children are threatened by climate change and the health impacts of the covid-19 pandemic.

The KidsRights list is the only annual ranking that counts whether children’s rights are respected in the countries.

First country on the list, with the best conditions for children, is Sweden, while followed by Finland, Iceland and Luxembourg.

Greece is in sixth place, after Germany in this list, which includes 193 countries.

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On the contrary Chadthe South Sudan and Afghanistanwhich are considered the worst countries for children

Post-pandemic inflation and the weakening of countries’ health systems are also having negative consequences, mainly in children’s vaccination programs, the same source noted: a total of 67 million children did not receive routine vaccinations from 2019 to 2021 due to the upheaval caused by the pandemic.

Climate change is another risk for children, especially in some parts of Asia, where “they are particularly exposed to climate risks, climate shock and stress”.

The KidsRights report also refers to the civil war in Sudan and the fact that in Afghanistan the Taliban have banned girls from going to school.

The increase in poverty is a possible cause of the increase in under-5 mortality in countries such as Madagascar and Niger, as well as the increase in child labour.

“This year is very worrying”, underlined Marc Dullaert founder and head of KidsRights calling on governments and NGOs “to take immediate action” to “protect children from the current disaster”.

The consequences of the war in Ukraine

THE Russian invasion of Ukrainewhich started on February 24, 2022, it came to be added to a list of other crises already affecting children’s rightsKidsRights explained.

“One in four children worldwide is expected to live below the poverty line this yearafter the war in Ukraine which caused a rapid rise in energy and food prices on the planet,” he stressed.

The 7.5 million children in Ukraine are “disproportionately affected by the war” and a large number of them have been displaced, he said.

Post-pandemic inflation and the weakening of countries’ health systems are also having negative consequencesmainly in childhood vaccination programs, the same source noted: a total of 67 million children did not receive routine vaccinations from 2019 to 2021 due to the upheaval caused by the pandemic.

Climate change is another danger to childrenmainly in some regions of Asia, where “they are particularly exposed to climate risks, climate shock and stress”.

The KidsRights report also refers to the civil war in Sudan and the fact that in Afghanistan the Taliban have banned girls from going to school.

The increase in poverty is a possible cause of the increase in under-5 mortality in countries such as Madagascar and Niger, as well as the increase in child labour.

“This year is very worrying”underlined Mark Dullaert founder and head of KidsRights calling on governments and NGOs “to take immediate action” to “protect children from the current disaster”.