New Delhi: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has released a grim report showing that an estimated 52 million children are currently out of school, mainly due to ongoing conflicts around the world. The research, published on Saturday 28 December 2024, highlights the devastating impact of war on education, with millions of children left in dire straits. conflict zone Countries such as Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar missed important lessons.
The devastating impact of conflict on education
UNICEF said children living in conflict zones are more likely to face severe disruption to their education, with many schools either damaged, destroyed or converted for military use. Conflict between Israel and Palestine leads to Children in Gaza He was out of school for more than a year, and similar situations were reported in Sudan. Additionally, children in war-torn countries such as Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo are unable to attend school due to ongoing violence.
The global scale of the crisis
The UNICEF report paints a grim picture of the scale of the crisis. An estimated 473 million children (approximately one in six) live in conflict zones, and nearly 47.2 million children have been displaced by violence. There have been more child casualties in the first nine months of 2024 than in all of 2023, underscoring increasing violence in these areas.
Call for immediate action
UNICEF Chief Executive Catherine Russell expressed serious concern about the situation, stressing that 2024 was the worst year ever for children in conflict. “Children growing up in conflict areas are more likely to be out of school, malnourished or displaced than children in peaceful areas. This must not become the new normal,” she said. Russell urged the international community to prevent a generation of children from becoming victims of ongoing war and to ensure that education remains accessible even in the most difficult circumstances.
As the world faces the highest number of global conflicts since World War II, the international community must act quickly to meet the educational needs of children in these dire situations and provide them with the future they deserve.
