COVID’s lost learning: 70 million children face reading crisis

New analysis released by anti-poverty group reveals that more than half the world’s 10-year-olds could be unable to read by the end of this year.

More than half of the world’s 10-year-olds could be unable to read and understand a sentence by the end of the year, according to a new analysis by the ONE campaign. The anti-poverty organisation warned on Monday that 70 million children could be affected in 2021, according to calculations based on figures released by the World Bank, UNESCO and UN population data. According to the report, the pandemic contributed 17 percent to the total number of children falling victim to a global learning crisis that could hamper the potential of a generation.