One in eight children found at risk of becoming child soldiers

One in eight of the world’s children - more than 300 million - live in conflict zones where they are at risk of becoming child soldiers, the charity Save the Children warned. The Save the Children report published on 30th November said boosting school access was vital in fighting forced recruitment.

According to the report, during 2020 some 337 million children were living near armed groups and government forces that recruit children.

Nearly 200 million of them live in the world’s deadliest war zones, up 20% from 2019. 

The exact number of child soldiers is unknown, but in 2020 more than 8,500 children were recruited and used as fighters or in other roles by mostly non-state armed groups, according to U.N. data, a 10% increase from the previous year.

That number is likely to be only a fraction of actual cases, the charity’s report said. 

Read the full story published on 30th November by Reuters here.

Read the full report by Save the Children here.