La pauvreté des enfants atteindra huit millions d'enfants d'ici la fin de l'année en Argentine, selon l'UNICEF
More than eight million children will be living below the poverty line in Argentina by the end of the year. This figure, published in UNICEF Argentina's report on child poverty, warns of the extreme scenario facing the Latin American country. According to the United Nations agency's estimate, there will be an increase of 1,300,000 poor children throughout 2020, compared to 2019.
This increase reflects the impact the pandemic has had on Argentine society and how it affects the most vulnerable. "The coronavirus affects the lives of boys and girls in all social classes, but in the poorest families the impact is much greater," said UNICEF Social Inclusion Specialist Sebastián Waisgrais. According to Waisgrais, "15 per cent of the households surveyed had to resort to a loan or a loan from a business to buy food. Unicef Argentina's projections estimate that poverty will reach 62.9% of children, according to calculations based on official INDEN data and International Monetary Fund forecasts of Argentina's GDP.
These data are part of the "Second Survey of Perception and Attitudes of the Population. Impact of the pandemic and the measures adopted by the government on the daily life of children and adolescents", which concluded that "beyond the opening of activities, the relaxation of quarantine in part of the country and the programme of assistance to work and production, there are 2.6 million households that have their labour income reduced". Luisa Bruma, representative of UNICEF Argentina, stressed the need to "redouble efforts so that no family in vulnerable conditions is left out of the benefits", such as the IFE or the ALIMENTAR card, which reaches 36% of homes.
With regard to health and vaccination controls, 28% of the families surveyed said that, when confinement was implemented, they had left out the vaccination process. UNICEF Argentina has stressed the need for the State to provide psychological support to families and the community so that children can regain their security and confidence and strengthen their socialization processes.
