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	Childhood ‘hangs in the balance’ unless urgent measures adopted to protect children’s futures by Catherine Russell Executive Director, UNICEF   Nov. 2024   The future of childhood hangs in the balance if urgent action is not taken to safeguard children’s rights in a changing world, UNICEF warned in its flagship report released on World Children’s Day today.   The State of the World’s Children 2024: The Future of Childhood in a Changing World, projects how three major global forces – or megatrends – will impact children’s lives by 2050 and beyond. The megatrends – demographic change, climate and environmental crises, and breakthrough technologies – provide key indications of the challenges and opportunities children may face in the future.   “Children are experiencing a myriad of crises, from climate shocks to online dangers, and these are set to intensify in the years to come,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.   “The projections in this report demonstrate that the decisions world leaders make today – or fail to make – define the world children will inherit. Creating a better future in 2050 requires more than just imagination, it requires action. Decades of progress, particularly for girls, are under threat.”   The climate crisis is already dire, with 2023 being the hottest year on record. According to the report, in the decade of 2050-2059, climate and environmental crises are expected to become even more widespread, with eight times as many children exposed to extreme heatwaves, three times as many exposed to extreme river floods, and nearly twice as many exposed to extreme wildfires, compared to the 2000s.   How these climate hazards impact children will be determined by their age, health, socioeconomic setting, and access to resources. For example, a child with access to climate-resilient shelter, cooling infrastructure, health care, education, and clean water has a greater chance of surviving climatic shocks compared to a child without access.   The report underscores the urgent need for targeted environmental action to protect all children and mitigate the risks they face.   Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are projected to have the largest child populations in the 2050s. They also indicate an aging population, with the share of children expected to decrease in every region of the world. While still high, the child population drops below 40 per cent in Africa – down from 50 per cent in the 2000s. It falls below 17 per cent in East Asia and Western Europe – where children made up 29 per cent and 20 per cent of the populations, respectively, in the 2000s.   These demographic shifts create challenges, with some countries under pressure to expand services for large child populations, while others balance the needs of a growing elderly population.   Meanwhile, the report acknowledges that frontier technologies – like Artificial Intelligence (AI) – offer both promise and peril for children, who are already interacting with AI embedded in apps, toys, virtual assistants, games, and learning software. But the digital divide remains stark. In 2024, over 95 per cent of people in high-income countries are connected to the internet, compared to nearly 26 per cent in low-income countries.   The report notes that a large percentage of youth in low-and middle-income countries have difficulty accessing digital skills, and this will impact their ability to effectively and responsibly use digital tools in education and future workplaces. These barriers are often linked to socio-economic settings, gender, linguistics, and accessibility.   The report contains some good news. Life expectancy at birth is projected to increase. Gains in children’s access to education over the last 100 years are also projected to continue, with nearly 96 per cent of children globally expected to have at least a primary education in the 2050s, up from 80 per cent in the 2000s.   Likewise, with increased investment in education and public health, and more stringent environmental protection, the report states that outcomes for children could improve significantly. For example, the gender gap in educational attainment would narrow, and exposure to environmental hazards would be reduced.   The State of the World’s Children 2024 underscores the importance of centering child rights, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, in all strategies, policies and actions. It calls for meeting the challenges and opportunities posed by the three megatrends by:   Investing in education, services, and sustainable and resilient cities for children. Expanding climate resilience in infrastructure, technology, essential services and social support systems. Delivering connectivity and safe technology design for all children.   This year, World Children’s Day - UNICEF’s annual day of action for children, is being commemorated under the theme, “Listen to the Future”. As part of the campaign, UNICEF asked children to write letters about the world they would like to see in 2050. Responses have poured in from all over the world – including Gaza City, Haiti, and Tanzania – expressing children’s wishes to be safe, healthy, and educated – and shielded from war and climate hazards.   “World Children’s Day is a moment for leaders to demonstrate their commitment to the rights and wellbeing of every child,” said Russell. “We can shape a better future for tomorrow’s children, and we have to get started today.”   http://www.unicef.org/reports/state-of-worlds-children/2024 http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/challenging-future-projected-children-2050-world-transformed-extreme-climate-0 http://www.unicef.org/stories/dear-adults Visit the related web page
	Children at risk of losing parental care worldwide amid systemic failures to support families by SOS Children’s Villages International   Oct. 2024   Millions of children across the globe are at risk of losing parental care because of a multitude of unchecked threats, from intergenerational violence to economic hardship to discrimination, a new report has revealed.   The study is the first of its kind to assess the drivers behind the separation of children from their families, which can have harmful and lasting impacts on children and their development. The research was commissioned by SOS Children’s Villages, the world’s largest non-governmental organisation focused on children and young people without parental care, or those at risk of losing it.   Experts conducted research through workshops across Cote d'Ivoire, Denmark, El Salvador, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, and Uruguay involving more than 1,000 research participants, including children, young people, families and professionals.   The study found families are under severe pressure from a range of factors. Violence – within both families and communities – was identified as a particularly strong driver, increasing the risk of children losing parental care.   The report also reveals systemic failures to address the root causes of family separation, including weak social protection systems, poor coordination across sectors to support families, and a lack of resources for child protection. These systemic shortcomings are exacerbating the impact of family stressors like poverty and ill-health, leading to preventable separations.   SOS Children’s Villages recommended a three-pillar approach to address the causes of child-family separation, calling on governments and global bodies to strengthen families, societies and approaches to protection.   “Inadequate care for children and young people has long-lasting – even intergenerational – physical and mental effects. Yet millions of children are separated from their families against their best interests and denied the family bonds they need to thrive,” said Dereje Wordofa, President of SOS Children’s Villages International.   Mr. Wordofa added: “This report tells us there is no single cause of child-family separation, but a lack of institutional support for families is allowing children to slip through the cracks. Governments and stakeholders across all social sectors – from healthcare to education to child protection and beyond – must join in partnership to address the root causes of child-family separation in a proactive and coordinated way.”   The report was launched at the UN in New York on October 29, the International Day of Care and Support. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes the right of every child to “grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love, and understanding”.   However, globally an estimated 220 million children – one in ten children – live without parental care or are at risk of losing it. In Africa alone, 35 million children were believed to be living without parental care in 2020.   As part of the report, researchers interviewed children living with their families in difficult circumstances as well as those living in the community after leaving alternative care.   The report revealed that the factors behind family separation fall into three categories. The first related to factors within wider society, such as poor social protections, violence in the community, and the climate crisis. The second covered impacts and circumstances within the family, such as death, disability, divorce and substance abuse. The third cluster included decision-making within child protection systems.   “Our findings reveal that many children are being unnecessarily placed in alternative care due to a combination of factors including the societal pressures families face, such as poverty and inter-generational violence, the strained capacity of some parents to provide adequate care, and the shortcomings in national child protection systems,” said Chrissie Gale, lead international researcher of the multi-country study.   Ms. Gale added: “If families received the necessary access to services and other support, these placements would be preventable. Our research shows that international guidelines requiring states and organizations to address the root causes of separation and keep children with their families are not being fully upheld.”   Of the 228 professionals who responded to the online survey, more than 40 per cent believed children were often placed in alternative care because of physical abuse of a child.   A significant number of interviewees made direct links between the stress caused by poverty and the breakdown of relationships including divorce, and violence in the home. In some countries, such as Kyrgyzstan and Indonesia, a consequence of poverty is that one or both parents migrate within or outside their country to find better livelihoods.   In Lebanon, for example, religious courts may separate children from their mothers and place them in the custody of their fathers, who may later relinquish the child to alternative care.   The research found these drivers were similar across diverse countries of all socio-economic type.   SOS Children’s Villages urged governments to scale up investments in preventative child protection systems - including anti-violence and parenting programmes - as well as improving social protection systems. The organisation also called for care and support systems to be designed and delivered according to the latest evidence and best practices.   “Many family separations could be prevented with integrated, accessible child protection systems that support families, reducing vulnerability and the risk of child rights violations by addressing the root causes of separation,” said Lanna Idriss, CEO of SOS-Kinderdorfer Weltweit.   Ms. Idriss added: “Failure to address the root causes of unnecessary separation undermines broader investments in child protection, social stability, and sustainable development. Strengthening families and providing adequate support through integrated care systems is crucial to preventing unnecessary separations and mitigating their long-term impact.”   http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/news/global-report-on-children-at-risk-of-losing-care Visit the related web page
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