Children are twice as likely to be forced into poverty from COVID-19 than adults, UNICEF's David Stewart has told CGTN Europe's The Agenda with Stephen Cole.

"Our estimates overall, and they change as the numbers change, are that over 100 million additional children are likely to be in poverty by the end of the year," Stewart said.

Because children statistically have double the chance of being in poverty, they are twice as likely to be forced to go without because of the coronavirus outbreak, says Stewart, chief of Child Poverty and Social Protection at UNICEF.

The rapid rise in cases of child poverty comes just as the numbers were tumbling before the virus outbreak.

"Child poverty rates were falling, but the impact on families and the longer impact on economies are really reversing the progress that we've seen," said Stewart.

UNICEF has been trying to offer information and protection to families and help ensure that there are better services available which means governments stepping in to provide financial support.

"One area which is particularly crucial when it comes to child poverty is strengthening child protection systems and cash transfer programs," said Stewart.

"This is an area where we know the problem is very significant but we also know a lot about what to do about it and we know that these programs can make a huge difference by providing financial protection to children and families."

Check out The Pandemic Playbook, CGTN Europe's major investigation into the lessons learned from COVID-19.