World Bank and Financial Times Youth Blog Competition 2023

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the lives of young children, students, and youth. The disruption of societies and economies caused by the pandemic has led to the worst crisis in education of the last century. The staggering effects of school closures reach beyond learning. This generation of children could lose a combined total of US$21 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value or the equivalent of 17% of today’s global GDP – a sharp rise from the 2021 estimate of a US$17 trillion loss.

Three years after the arrival of COVID-19, educators and governments are still grappling with the pandemic’s aftermath. They are working to make up the crucial time lost during COVID-related closures, to position students for successful lives.

Fortunately, the future doesn’t have to be dark. This is because there’s still time to recover learning losses and put a generation of students on track to thrive in the jobs of the future.