Children and Youth
The State of the World's Children 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised huge concerns for the mental health of an entire generation of children. But the pandemic may represent only the tip of a mental health iceberg – an iceberg we have ignored for far too long. For the first time The State of the World’s Children 2021 examines the mental health of children and adolescents. Against a backdrop of rising awareness of mental health issues there is now a unique opportunity to promote good mental health for every child protect vulnerable children and care for children facing the greatest challenges. Making that happen will require urgent investment in child and adolescent mental health across sectors – not just in health – to support proven interventions. It will also need societies to break the silence surrounding mental health by addressing stigma promoting understanding and taking seriously the experiences of children and young people.
Acknowledgements
Brian Keeley Editor in Chief; Juliano Diniz de Oliveira Research and Policy Specialist; Tara Dooley Deputy Editor; Natalie Rykiel Researcher; Dennis Gayanelo Programme Associate; John McIlwaine Photo Writer and Editor; and Amanda Marlin Chief Editorial Unit Office of Global Insight and Policy.
Statistical tables
The statistical tables in this volume present the most recent key statistics on child survival development and protection for the world’s countries areas and regions. They support UNICEF’s focus on progress and results towards internationally agreed-upon goals and compacts relating to children’s rights and development.
Introduction - A time for leadership on mental health
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our world creating a global crisis unprecedented in our lifetime. It has created serious concerns about the mental health of children and their families and it has illustrated in stark terms how events in the wider world can affect the world inside our heads. But the pandemic also offers an opportunity to build back better. We have a historic chance to commit communicate and take action to promote protect and care for the mental health of a generation.
The world at large
The world at large imprints on mental health. Poverty undermines physical and mental health and can expose children to violence and trauma; discrimination can expose children to disadvantage prejudice and social exclusion; and humanitarian crises and pandemics – like COVID-19 – can lead to extreme and lasting distress. Resilience helps children better cope with such stresses. Counter to what many people think resilience can be cultivated.
The foundation
Children’s and young people’s mental health is forged by experiences and environments. It is moulded in the worlds of parents and caregivers of communities and schools and of poverty conflict and disease. At critical moments of child development these experiences and environments can harm mental health. Or they can be shaped to promote and protect it.
What is being done
The good news is that evidence-based efforts are underway to promote and protect mental health and care for children and young people most in need. And there are nascent initiatives aimed at collecting data and research to make this work increasingly effective and efficient. The bad news is that much much more needs to be done.
Mental health
Mental health is a right to be nurtured; it is a positive state of well-being and an essential investment in children and the world. However mental health is far too often an afterthought for decision makers leaders and families – if it is a thought at all. As a result many millions of children and young people struggle in silence thwarted by stigmas and misunderstanding. This silence costs societies many millions of dollars a year. For children and families the cost is incalculable.
Risk and protection
Since many of the factors that shape mental health – for better and for worse – are not biological they can be changed. To do so it is essential to identify and understand these factors. For children nurturing care from and for parents and caregivers really matters. So too do safe and engaging learning environments where children can develop soft skills and resilience. And as children enter their adolescent years peer relationships can shape lifelong norms and attitudes.
A framework for action
We may not have all the answers but we know enough to get to work. To promote and protect mental health for every child and care for children facing the greatest challenges we need commitment backed by investment; communication that breaks the silence and breaks down stigmas and barriers to change; and action that minimizes risk factors and maximizes protective factors in key areas of children’s and adolescents’ lives especially the family and school.
Cash Transfers - Past, Present and Future
Predictive Analytics for Children
Macroeconomic outlook for west and central Africa, and implications for child well-being
The twin health and economic crisis induced by COVID-19 presents unique challenges to the West and Central Africa Region (WCAR). First while the global financial crisis was demand driven the COVID-19 economic crisis is simultaneously driven by both demand and supply shocks. Second the process of recovery is linked with uncertainty about when the health crisis will end due to the emergence of various strains of the virus and vaccine roll-out.
Introduction
The outbreak of the disease caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in 2019 and the associated necessary mitigation measures to stop its spread caused an abrupt fall in the global production and demand for goods and services. Economic output in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) shrank by 2.4 per cent in 2020 as a result of the pandemic creating the deepest recession in over six decades (World Bank 2021). Shrinking government revenue as a result of the pandemic and the need to borrow on domestic and international markets to finance expenditure has given rise to widening budget deficits and a sharp increase in government debt. The debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in SSA increased from 62 to 70 per cent of GDP on average (International Monetary Fund 2020).
The effect of recent economic crises in west and central africa on child well-being
The discussion in section 2.3 outlined potential pathways through which shocks to aggregate income affect children through either the supply-side or the demand-side channel. This section examines the basic empirical relationship between variations in aggregate income and child well-being. In a firstbest scenario that will entail estimating the impact of specific supply-side and demand-side indicator variables on child well-being. Due to a lack of detailed data the section presents direct estimates of variations of aggregate income and their effect on child well-being. Data sources and coverage are presented in section 1.3 and Annex A.
Economic Crisis and Child Well-being in the West and Central Africa Region
The COVID-19 pandemic that swept over the world from early 2020 has triggered both health and economic shocks of unprecedented proportions in recent memory. Some estimates suggest that the consequences of these shocks will likely erase most of the progress made in global development over the past two decades. Many countries now risk falling further behind the attainment of national and international development goals including the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of these shocks due to their persistent higher levels of vulnerability and the reality that school closures and other COVID-19 containment measures can be more damaging to children. This report examines the effect of previous economic crises on children’s well-being in UNICEF’s West and Central Africa Region (WCAR) and makes projections regarding the potential impacts of COVID-19-induced economic crises on priority indicators for the region.
Trend in aggregate income, shocks and sources, and implications for child well-being
Before the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008 the West and Central Africa Region (WCAR) enjoyed a period of sustained growth from 2000 onwards. Gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a yearly average growth of 5.34 per cent in the region during the pre-crisis period between 2000 and 2007.