Investment in basic education is the key to breaking a cycle of poverty that is preventing one in four children in the Middle East and North Africa from reaching their full potential.

That’s according to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which published a study on Monday showing that 25% continue to be trapped in poverty, fuelled in part by conflict and mass displacement.

Among the key findings were that almost half of all children in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region live in inadequate housing, and are not fully immunized.

Jérôme Longué spoke to UNICEF’s Tamara Kummer, in Amman, Jordan.

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