Globalmatters.org

Over 600 million children and adolescents worldwide are unable to achieve the minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics, even though over 66% of them are in school. For out-of-school children, foundational skills in literacy and numeracy also present major problems.

The learning crisis is defined as the difference between the levels of learning children receive and those they, their communities and entire economies need . This hit a global scale even before the COVID-19 pandemic brought education systems to a stop.

Globally, children are being deprived of education and learning for various reasons. One of the most obstinate barriers is attributed to poverty. Other factors include economic fragility, political instability, conflict or natural disasters ,those children with disabilities, or from ethnic minorities. In some countries, education opportunities for girls remain severely limited or non-existent .

Furthermore, there is a lack of trained teachers, inadequate education materials and poor infrastructure are making learning very difficult for many students. Other children arrive for class too hungry, ill or exhausted from work or household tasks to receive significant benefit from their lessons.

(Adapted from Education | UNICEF )

Further information/reading : Education | UNICEF , Education Statistics – UNICEF DATA , World Data on Education | International Bureau of Education (unesco.org) , SDG Goal 4: Quality Education – UNICEF DATA

Text adapted from Household air pollution (who.int) )

• KEY FACTS (from Household air pollution (who.int) )
• Approximately 2.4 billion people worldwide cook using open fires or inefficient stoves .They are fuelled fuelled by kerosene, biomass (wood, animal dung and crop waste) and coal, which generates harmful household air pollution.
  
• Household air pollution was responsible for an estimated 3.2 million deaths per year in 2020, including over 237 000 deaths of children under the age of 5.
  
• The combined effects of ambient air pollution and household air pollution are associated with 6.7 million premature deaths annually.
  
• Household air pollution exposure leads to noncommunicable diseases including stroke, ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.
  
• Women and children, typically responsible for household chores such as cooking collecting firewood, bear the greatest health burden from the use of polluting fuels and technologies in homes.
  
• It is essential to expand use of clean fuels and technologies to reduce household air pollution and protect health. These include solar, electricity, biogas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, alcohol fuels, as well as biomass stoves that meet the emission targets in the WHO Guidelines.

More information :

14 Ways to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution – Consumer Reports

Household air pollution – Wikipedia

World’s Most Polluted Countries in 2021 – PM2.5 Ranking | IQAir