COVID-19 having catastrophic effects on lives of children: UNICEF

Stressing that the COVID-19 pandemic was having an adverse effect on the lives of children world over, UNICEF Director of the Office of Global Insight and Policy Laurence Chandy called on governments to prioritise the continuity of child services.

Geneva:The United Nations Children's Fund on Friday reiterated that the COVID-19 pandemic is having catastrophic effects on the lives of children world over.

"People around the world are anxiously tracking the numbers of new cases and deaths due to COVID-19. But in doing so, we are distracted from the catastrophic effects of the pandemic on children, UNICEF Director of the Office of Global Insight and Policy Laurence Chandy was quoted in an official release.

"The effects of the pandemic are not limited to health but extend to many dimensions of children's lives: their education, safety and poverty," he added.

Chandy particularly stressed upon the economic fallout due to the pandemic, citing the IMF which had earlier said that around 170 countries are expected to see average income levels fall this year.

The IMF reported earlier this week that 170 countries are expected to see average income levels fall this year.

"For poor households around the world, a reduction in income means reductions in essential expenditures on health and food, whose effects are especially grave for children in households who struggle to subsist day to day," Chandy said.

He further feared that the education of 1.5 billion children globally, which is disrupted or halted together, might have an adverse impact.

He also drew attention to the fact that many children, who belong to families with a history of domestic violence, are now confined to their homes.

Read:Children among most severely impacted by COVID-19: UNICEF

Coming to the health effects of the pandemic, he said that the world body was anticipating "hundreds of thousands" of additional child deaths this year.

"Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals for children were already off track. The fear now is that the targets will be entirely out of sight. We desperately need to avoid that outcome," Chandy said.

In terms of immediate measures to be taken, he said that nations need to shield poor families by expanding social assistance.

"Throughout the proceeding months, we call on governments to prioritize the continuity of child services and make sure access to those services is equal. This includes classifying child protection as an essential service," he said.

Chandy said that though COVID-19 is a universal crisis, its effects will not be equally distributed, as children who are refugees, migrants, displaced, disabled, and are slum dwellers will be disproportionately affected.

"We call on governments to prioritize the restoration of child services as lockdown measures are lifted, and to ensure that children have access to treatment, testing and vaccines as they become available," Chandy said.

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