UNICEF reported in the late 1980s that the structural adjustment programs of the World Bank had been responsible for "reduced health, nutritional and educational levels for tens of millions of children in Asia, Latin America, and Africa".
A finais da década de 1980, UNICEF informou que os programas de axustamento estruturais do Banco Mundial foran responsables da "diminución da saúde, dos niveis nutritivos e educativos de decenas de millóns de nenos de Asia, Latinoamérica, e África".