New York: For the first time in two decades, the number of children being put to work has risen – to 160 million worldwide, representing an increase of 8.4 million over four years – while millions of other are at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new UN report launched on Thursday.
The joint study of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was presented on Thursday in order to commemorate the World Day Against Child Labor on June 12.
The report warned that globally, as many as nine million additional children are at risk of being pushed into child labor by the end of 2022 as a result of the pandemic, which could rise to 46 million without access to critical social protection coverage.
