OUR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IS FOREMOST DURING THIS PANDEMIC

 Disruptions to society have a heavy impact on children: on their safety, their well-being, their future. Only by working together can we keep millions of girls and boys – including those facing poverty, exclusion or violence, and those upended by humanitarian crisis – healthy, safe and learning.

 

KEEP CHILDREN HEALTHY AND WELL NOURISHED 

International efforts to bolster health systems – by ensuring supplies and protective equipment reach affected communities, and training health workers to prevent, diagnose and treat coronavirus disease – will go a long way to fight the virus. But overburdened health systems threaten more than those who fall ill with COVID-19. 

In the poorest parts of the world, children in need of basic yet essential services – including those to protect against diseases like pneumonia, malaria and diarrhea – are at risk of not receiving them. Interruptions to supply chains and health care threaten to undermine recent gains in child health, nutrition and development, potentially leading to a significant rise in child mortality. Disrupted food systems and nutrition programs mean that undernourished children will go untreated, elevating the risk of wasting or sustained malnutrition, which can cause stunting. Interruptions in immunization services could also spur outbreaks of diseases for which a vaccine already exists.

 

REACH CHILDREN WITH WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

Protecting ourselves and others through proper handwashing and hygiene practices has never been more important. But for many children, basic water and hygiene facilities remain out of reach. 

Some children are cut off from safe water because they live in remote areas, or in places where water is untreated or polluted. Other children lack access to facilities because they are without a home, living in a slum or on the street.

 

KEEP CHILDREN LEARNING

We must do more to ensure all children have equal access to quality learning. Governments must prioritize the reopening of schools and take all possible measures to do so safely. Where schools remain closed, governments must scale up home learning options, including no-tech and low-tech solutions, with an immediate focus on the most marginalized children. 

Now is not the time to divert national funding for education. Rather, governments need to invest in education and join forces to bridge the digital divide. If the global community works together, we can connect 3.5 billion children and young people to the internet by 2030 – ensuring every child, everywhere, can learn online. UNICEF and partners will continue to work together to keep children connected and learning.

 

PROTECT CHILDREN FROM VIOLENCE, EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE

Governments must prioritize critical violence-prevention and response services for children. They must maintain and adapt these services, accounting for the unique risks of girls and the most vulnerable children, when planning for social distancing and other COVID-19 response measures. We must also support children who may be temporarily separated from their parents due to illness, as well as those deprived of their liberty – and work together to prepare for a surge in young people seeking remote protection and mental health solutions.

Our response to the coronavirus disease must reimagine a world fit for every child. History has shown that UNICEF, together with partners, has the experience and reach to improve the lives of millions of children and their families. And we are here now, in 192 countries, working with communities, governments and partners to slow the spread of COVID-19 and minimize the social and economic impacts on children and their families.

 

 

References: 

https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/agenda-for-action

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