AMMAN: A decade since Arab Spring protests rocked the Middle East and North Africa, many of its youth are in need and at risk, says the UN children’s agency’s regional director. Chaiban said there were 38 million children and adolescents requiring assistance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region — “the highest number of children in need in the world”. The region is also home to the world’s worst youth unemployment rates — 25 percent in the Middle East, and 29 percent in North Africa — according to Chaiban. The jobless rates are higher for young females: 41 percent in the Middle East and 39 percent in North Africa. The coronavirus pandemic has heaped further hardship on children from across the Middle East and North Africa, depriving 40 percent of their lessons due to a lack of access to online learning, said UNICEF.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 30, 2021 00:45 UTC