Globally, 1.4 billion children, aged under 15, lack any form of social protection, leaving them vulnerable to disease, poor nutrition and poverty, according to new data released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Save the Children and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have said.

The report said many children are deprived of the basic resources and services they need to escape poverty and are therefore exposed to the long-lasting impact of hunger, malnutrition, and unrealised potential.

To this end, the three organisations are calling on governments to ensure all children are shielded by social protection mechanisms through universal child benefits.

They said ensuring children are covered by social protection was paramount to protecting them from the worst impact of the climate crisis. According to them, child benefits are a critical form of social protection, intended to promote the long-term well-being of children.

Delivered as cash or tax credits, they maintained that child benefits are essential for reducing poverty as well as accessing healthcare, nutrition, quality education, water and sanitation. In addition, these benefits support socio-economic development, particularly in times of crisis.

The Guardian gathered that the data showed there has been a modest global increase in access to child benefits over 14 years, from 20 per cent in 2009 to 28.1 per cent in 2023. However, the progress has been unequal, especially in low-income countries, where rates of coverage remain staggeringly low, at around nine per cent.

At the same time, 84.6 per cent of children in high-income countries are covered. The three agencies urged policymakers and donors to take decisive steps to attain universal social protection for all children, by building social protection systems that are rights-based, gender-responsive, inclusive and shock-responsive, to address inequities and deliver better results for girls and women, children with disabilities, migrant children, and children in child labour, among others.

They urged that closing protection gaps required filling the ‘financing gap’. According to them, this means investing in child benefits for all children, which offers a proven and cost-effective way to combat child poverty and ensure children thrive.

They maintained that it entails providing a comprehensive range of child benefits through national social protection systems that also connect families to crucial health and social services, such as free or affordable high-quality childcare.

They said securing sustainable financing for social protection systems by mobilising domestic resources and increasing public investment in children, while strengthening social protection for parents and caregivers by guaranteeing access to decent work and adequate benefits, including unemployment, sickness, maternity, disability and pensions.

Director, Social Policy and Social Protection, UNICEF, Natalia Rossi, said: “Globally, 333 million children are living in extreme poverty, struggling to survive on less than $2.15 per day, and nearly one billion children living in multidimensional poverty.

“At the current rate of progress, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’ poverty targets is out of reach. This is unacceptable. However, ending child poverty is a policy choice. Expanding social protection coverage of children in the fight against poverty is critical, including the progressive realisation of universal child benefits.”

To bolster efforts to monitor and reduce the gaps in child benefit coverage, Save the Children, ILO and UNICEF have developed the Global Child Benefits Tracker, an online platform to monitor children’s access to benefits and advocate with governments and donors to close the gaps.

The Guardian gathered that the launch comes at a critical time when the most recent data shows that 829 million children globally are living in households where per-person incomes are below $3.65 a day and progress on child poverty reduction has largely stalled.