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8 million children in Middle East are out of school: Report

One in every four children robbed of childhood across globe.

Childhood is the biggest casualty in conflict-torn zones. And millions of kids in the Middle East are being robbed of it, reveals a new report from Save the Children.

As many as eight million children in the region have been forced to flee their homes, with the crises in Syria, Yemen and Iraq responsible for almost a third of all global displacement last year, the report, titled Stolen Childhoods, adds.

Around 100,000 children in Yemen have died since the conflict escalated in 2015, some directly from violence but most from preventable diseases or malnutrition. The current cholera epidemic in the country is affecting more than 600 children every day.

More than eight million children across the Middle East are now out of school, increasing the risk of early marriage, child labour and recruitment into armed groups. The growing risk of a 'lost generation' of children is likely to have a devastating impact on the region's future development and stability, the report warns.

In all, one quarter of the world's children -- 700 million -- have had the promise of a full childhood brought to an early end. Apart from factors like extreme violence and conflict, early marriage and pregnancy, child labour, poor health and not being able to go to school are reasons behind this.

The report includes a global index ranking the places where childhood is most and least threatened.

Childhoods in West and Central Africa are most threatened. These include Niger, Angola, Mali, Central African Republic, and Somalia. Norway, Slovenia, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden are countries where childhood is the least threatened.

Interestingly, Save the Children's report found Yemen's Sa'ada governorate showing the world's highest stunting (impaired growth from poor nutrition) rates, affecting 8 out of 10 children.

Misty Buswell, Save the Children's Regional Director of Advocacy, said: "Children growing up in war, being targeted by violent groups, suffering and dying from disease, and experiencing harsh discrimination, are being robbed of everything that makes them children. It is unacceptable that in 2017, millions of children around the world still do not have their right to be safe, learn, grow and play. We must, and we can, do better than this."

"In 2015, the world made a promise that by 2030, all children be would be in school, protected, and healthy, regardless of who they are, and where they live. Although this is an ambitious target, it's within reach if governments invest in all children to guarantee they have the full childhood they deserve," added Buswell.

The report also found that every day, more than 16,000 children die before reaching their fifth birthday, the vast majority from preventable causes. About one quarter of all children under five (156 million) have their physical growth and mental development stunted as a result of malnutrition. One in six school-aged children worldwide is currently out of school. Conflict has forced nearly one child in 80 from their homes. 168 million children in the world are involved in child labour -- 85 million in hazardous work -- which is more than all the children living in Europe (138 million). One girl under 15 is married every seven seconds.