Foreign
By Christabel Chika
THE United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF has enlisted eight trends that have the greatest potential of impacting children this year.
According to the post on X by the United Nations, UN X handle, conflict, economic crises and unchecked technologies are some of the main challenges likely to threaten children’s well-being in 2024.
The eight trends with the greatest impact on children in 2024 include:
1. Geopolitical shifts and the risk of conflict may threaten children’s survival and well-being, but avenues for accountability and cooperation hold promise.
2. Economic fragmentation threatens families’ livelihoods, children’s development and youth employment, but economic solidarity, market collaboration, and investing in future skills can safeguard children’s rights and futures.
3. A fragmented multilateral system is not delivering on key issues for children, but it has a chance to reset its course in 2024 through global governance and financing reforms.
4. Developing economies still face structural inequities in the international financial architecture, limiting their ability to invest in children, but reforms to lending approaches and new technologies offer hope.
5. Global democracy will face unprecedented risks presented by disinformation and higher levels of political violence, but positive forces, including those led by children and youth, may still reverse the democratic decline.
6. Fast-tracking transition to green energy is reshaping critical mineral and labour markets, but if managed responsibly, cooperatively, and justly, it can benefit children.
7. El Niño, mosquito-borne diseases, and water scarcity threaten children’s health and well-being, but greater collaboration, holistic programming, and technological innovation can mitigate the negative impacts and protect children.
8. Potential impacts of unchecked technologies spark fear and concern for children’s well-being, but proactive policy and global digital cooperation can place children at the center of responsible design and regulation.
Furthermore, UNICEF in the latest edition of their yearly report Global Outlook: Prospects for children in 2024: Cooperation in a fragmented world, envisioned 2024 as the year to choose a path of increased global collaboration, “a path that embraces knowledge, sharing, policy transfer, and equitable growth. Or a path with less unity that will potentially result in countries facing the challenges posed by climate change, conflicts, and resource constraints individually.
According to UNICEF, the world has a shared destiny, and “by envisioning these diverse futures, the world can anticipate challenges and harness opportunities to forge a more secure, equitable world for children.
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Tags: Christabel Chika UNICEF
