‘Middle East conflict may push 23m more children into poverty’

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the resulting disruption to global shipping routes could push up to 23.4 million more children into monetary poverty by the end of this year, according to a new UNICEF analysis released on Wednesday.
The report, “The Impact of the War in the Middle East on Children in Monetarily Poor Households”, analyses data from more than 167 countries and warns that rising food and energy prices, coupled with wider economic shocks linked to the conflict and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, are severely affecting vulnerable families worldwide.
“Children are paying the price for the escalating conflict in the Middle East, including children far beyond the region,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“The longer this continues, the worse the consequences will be. Rapidly rising costs are making food and education unaffordable for many families. For children already living in poverty, these shocks deepen deprivation and can cause harm that lasts a lifetime.” 
The report outlines two possible scenarios. Under a moderate economic shock, an additional 18.3 million children could fall into monetary poverty. In a more severe scenario, prolonged disruption to prices and economic activity could push that figure to 23.4 million.
UNICEF said child poverty is highly vulnerable to global economic shocks. Surging food and fuel prices, combined with shrinking fiscal capacity in many countries, are reducing families' ability to afford basic necessities.
Asia and Africa are expected to account for around 80% of the projected increase in child poverty, reflecting already high poverty rates and greater exposure to external economic shocks.
The report highlights the crisis's impact in several countries. In Somalia, fuel prices in Mogadishu more than doubled within days of the conflict's escalation, driving up the cost of food, water, transport and humanitarian operations. In Ethiopia, diesel prices have risen by 31%, while fuel costs for humanitarian agencies have increased by 50-70%, hampering aid delivery to remote communities. In Nigeria, where low-income families spend up to 70% of their income on food and transport, even modest price rises are further eroding household purchasing power.
In Bangladesh, increasing prices of staple foods, including rice, lentils, cooking oil, vegetables, fish and poultry, are placing additional pressure on households. UNICEF estimates that around 1.2 million more people could fall into poverty as a result.
The agency warned that the conflict threatens to reverse years of progress in reducing child poverty and improving access to food, healthcare, education and protection services. It urged governments, donors and international financial institutions to strengthen social protection, safeguard funding for essential services, expand fiscal support and improve child-focused emergency preparedness.
“This crisis is putting the lives and futures of children at risk,” Russell said. “If the world fails to act swiftly, the combined effects of conflict, economic instability and rising costs will push millions of children into deeper poverty. We could see hard-earned development gains unravel.”