Iran War Could Push 23M Children Into Poverty

The Iran war's fuel-price shock is forcing the world's poorest families to choose between keeping their children in school and keeping them fed, the Associated Press reports.

A recent United Nations Children's Fund report found that if the war continues, it could push up to 23.4 million more children into poverty by the end of this year. About 80% of them would be in Africa and Asia.

Unlike the mass school closures of COVID-19, this damage is close to invisible: no shuttered buildings, just families who can no longer afford the boat ride, the bus fare or the lost day of work.

How the fuel price hits a classroom

Higher fuel prices raise the cost of nearly every part of education — getting students and teachers to school, moving pencils and chalk into classrooms, and reaching remote communities with aid workers, according to the AP. Governments squeezed by rising food and energy bills have less left for schools.

On Cambodia's Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, everything already costs more because supplies arrive by boat. "Even the electricity to run this lab is 10-times higher," said Samphors Vorn of the nonprofit Aide et Action, which supports a school in the floating village of Kampong Prahok.

Sou Sreynich, 13, first entered a classroom at 10 — her mother waited until she could swim, fearing the school boat could capsize. Teachers at her school say 10 students have drowned over the years. Her family fishes for a living, and rising fuel prices mean they can no longer afford to travel to the deeper water where fish are plentiful. When money is tight, she skips a day or two of school to work alongside her parents.

"I want to complete my studies," she said.