UNICEF Advocates for Child Care During COVID-19 Crisis

The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, warns of the need to protect children during the health emergency caused by COVID-19.

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According to the international agency, infants are not only vulnerable to infection, but also to the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. 

UNICEF advocates for indirect protection of children through securing work and income for parents and legal guardians who support and care for them. The organization stated: "If urgent action is not taken to mitigate the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and its response, tens of millions of children already living in extremely difficult circumstances will fall into poverty."

Besides, regular educative systems ceased during the crisis. Worldwide, children experience interruptions in their education, a concern expressed by child rights activists.

According to UNICEF statistics, 32 percent of children worldwide who show symptoms of pneumonia are not taken for care to a health provider. Also, 2 out of 5 people or 3 billion people around the world lack access to basic handwashing facilities, increasing the contagious risk among adults and especially, children.  Worldwide, nearly 31 million children had been forcibly displaced at the end of 2018.

This includes some 13 million child refugees, around 1 million asylum-seeking children and an estimated 17 million children displaced within their own countries by violence and conflict. As UNICEF reports, more than 2/3 of children are subjected to violent discipline by caregivers.

"We must prevent this pandemic from becoming a child protection crisis. When planning social distancing and other response measures to VIDCO-19, governments must take into account the particular risks of vulnerable children, including those who face discrimination and stigma," the organization explains in a statement on its official website. Among the most vulnerable children are those immersed in armed conflict and migration, the ones in extreme poverty circumstances, as well as those who are refugees or discriminated against because of their ethnicity.  

Other arguments indicate that because of the impact of the virus, many children could be left in an orphaned state at the mercy of assistance or in legal abandonment. Moreover, given the preventive measures of social isolation, many girls suffer physical and psychological aggression when confined to their potential abusers.

UNICEF is engaged in dialogue with governments and social leaders to formulate strategies to alleviate children’s situation during and after the pandemic development.