Harm Of The COVID-19 Crisis On Children

  The Covid-19 pandemic have significantly disrupted the daily lives of children and adolescents, with increase time at home, online learning and limited physical social interaction. It harms physical and mental health, with the poorest children, including homeless children, hit the hardest. School closures, social distancing and confinement increase the risk of poor nutrition among children, their exposure to domestic violence, increase their anxiety and stress, and reduce access to vital family and care services. While not a category at risk from a medical viewpoint, children are significantly impacted by the ongoing COVID‑19 pandemic. This brief aims to capture some key issues and propose early steps that governments can take to mitigate negative consequences for children, especially the most vulnerable.

   Immediate government measures need to ensure that children have access to good food, receive protection against child abuse and neglect, have continued access to child physical and mental health services, and can navigate safely on the internet. Policies also need to support parental employment since it is key to fighting child poverty. In addition, COVID‑19 may present serious challenges for inclusive growth as the poorest children are likely to be hardest hit and their heir life chances severely limited, unless immediate and comprehensive measures are taken. From a purely medical perspective, early evidence suggests that children are not the most affected by COVID‑19. 

   As the COVID‑19 crisis spreads around the world, it is transforming children’s day-to-day lives. The pandemic and the associated policy responses of confinement and social distancing touch on almost every part of children’s worlds. To this end, protecting children’s privacy and safeguarding their personal data is essential for their well-being and autonomy and to ensure that their needs are met in the digital environment.


Reference:
   COVID-19 & Children : Rapid Research Response. UNICEF Innocenti. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR8WlnNWQ2XLYjxidFkxSxDoQQBXEvPpJz4mA&usqp=CAU