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Pandemic Leaves Nearly Half-a-Billion Children Without Access to Distance
Learning

VOA News

   With the total number of worldwide COVID-19 cases surpassing 24
   million, including more than 824,000 deaths, the United Nations
   Children's Fund (UNICEF) says nearly one-third of the world's
   schoolchildren are unable to participate in remote learning.

   A report issued Wednesday by the agency says that of the 1.5 billion
   children who have been forced to miss in-person learning because of the
   pandemic, about 463 million did not have the equipment or electronic
   access to continue their studies through television, radio or the
   Internet.

   UNICEF says 49% of all children in sub-Saharan Africa are unable to
   access any type of remote learning, followed by West and Central Africa
   with 48%, and North Africa and the Middle East with 40%. More than 200
   million children combined in South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific
   regions are unable to continue their education outside the classroom.

   "The sheer number of children whose education was completely disrupted
   for months on end is a global education emergency," said UNICEF
   Executive Director Henrietta Fore. "The repercussions could be felt in
   economies and societies for decades to come."
   WATCH: Stacey Knott's report from Ghana

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