Ashraf AboArafe
In a video message, UN Secretary-General reviewed the impact of COVID-19 on children as follows:
188 countries have imposed countrywide school closures, affecting more than 1.5 billion children and youth.
Nearly 369 million children across 143 countries who normally rely on school meals for a reliable source of daily nutrition must now look to other sources.
Hundreds of thousands of additional children could die this year, compared to a pre-pandemic scenario, as a result of the looming global recession. This would effectively reverse the last 2 to 3 years of progress in reducing infant mortality within a single year.
As the world focuses on the daily counts of COVID-19 infections and deaths, these numbers deserve equal attention.
The direct impact of COVID-19 infection on children has thankfully been far milder than for other age groups, at least to date.
But make no mistake.
The socio-economic impact of the virus – and of the containment and mitigation measures governments have put in place around the world – is potentially catastrophic for millions of children. What began as a health crisis risks evolving into a broader child-rights crisis.
This is a universal crisis of unprecedented scale. All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are affected. However, some children are destined to bear the greatest costs. Among those who will be badly hit are children living in slums, refugee and displacement camps, and zones of active conflict. Children with disabilities. Children living in institutions and detention centres.
The world must act urgently, and collectively, to mitigate the costs to children.
We need more information: Time to look beyond daily data on new infections and deaths to analyse the broader effects of the pandemic. An optimal response to COVID-19 in any setting must balance multiple risks to save the most lives.
