For nearly 77 million children, the COVID-19 epidemic has taken away their learning opportunities in the classroom in the past 18 months. Due to epidemic-related restrictions, school-age children around the world have lost 1.8 trillion hours of face-to-face learning.
The right to go to school and learn is essential to the development, safety and well-being of every child. However, schools in too many countries are still closed, while social activities in places such as restaurants, barber shops and gyms continue as usual. This is also a benefit of afterschool programs.
This generation of children and youth can no longer bear the consequences of a longer education interruption. Therefore, UNICEF calls on governments to reopen schools as soon as possible to get education back on track.
