UNICEF calls children living during COVID-19 'lost generation'

On the eve of World Children's Day, UNICEF released the report Preventing the Lost Generation of COVID-19. This is the first UNICEF report to comprehensively describe the dire and growing impact on children as the pandemic drags on. It shows that while symptoms in infected children remain mild, infections are on the rise and the long-term impact on education, nutrition and the well-being of an entire generation of children and young people can change their lives. Read more about the report and the impact of COVID-19 on the website UNICEF.

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“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a persistent myth that children are virtually unaffected by the disease. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF. “While children can get sick and spread the disease, this is just the tip of the pandemic iceberg. Disruptions in basic services and rising poverty levels pose the greatest threat to children. The longer the crisis lasts, the greater the impact on children's education, health, nutrition and well-being. The future of an entire generation is at risk."

The report indicates that as of November 3, in 87 countries, 1 in 9 cases of COVID-19 infections are in children and adolescents under the age of 20, or 11% of the 25,7 million cases reported by those countries. Intervention requires more reliable age-disaggregated data on infections, deaths and testing to better understand how the crisis affects children.

The report notes that while children can transmit the virus to each other and to older age groups, there is strong evidence that, with basic security measures in place, the benefits of keeping schools open outweigh the costs of closing them. Schools are not the main contributor to the transmission of the virus in the community, and children are more likely to catch the virus outside of school.

On the subject: UN: COVID-19 pandemic will lead to higher infant mortality from other diseases

The report says disruptions to critical health and social services for children due to COVID-19 pose the most serious threat.

UNICEF notes that:

About one-third of the countries analyzed showed a decline in coverage of health services such as routine vaccinations, outpatient treatment of childhood infectious diseases and maternal health services by at least 10%.

Coverage of nutritional services for women and children in 135 countries fell by 40%. As of October 2020, 265 million children worldwide were still out of school. More than 250 million children under 5 may be missing out on the life-giving benefits of vitamin A supplementation programs.

65 countries reported a decrease in the number of home visits by social workers to children in September 2020 compared to the same period last year.

More alarming data from the report include:

• As of November 2020, 30 school closures across the country affected an average of 572 million students—33% of students worldwide.
• An estimated 2 million additional child deaths and 200 additional stillbirths could occur over a 000-month period if serious service disruptions and rising malnutrition are not reversed.
• An additional 6 to 7 million children under 5 years of age will suffer from wasting or acute malnutrition in 2020, leading to more than 10 additional child deaths per month, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
• Globally, the number of children living in multidimensional poverty—without access to education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water—is estimated to have increased by 2020%, or 15 million children, by mid-150.

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To respond to this crisis, UNICEF is calling on governments and partners to:

• Ensure education for all children, including by closing the digital divide.
• Guarantee access to food and health care and make vaccines available to every child.
• Maintain and protect the mental health of children and young people and end abuse and gender-based violence.
• Expand access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene and tackle pollution and climate change.
• Reverse the rise in child poverty and ensure universal health care for all.
• Redouble efforts to protect and support children and their families in conflict and natural disasters.

“This World Children’s Day, we ask governments, partners and the private sector to listen to children and prioritize their needs,” Fore said. “As we all reimagine the future and look to a post-pandemic world, children must come first.”

Read also on ForumDaily:

UN: COVID-19 pandemic will lead to higher infant mortality from other diseases

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They are dying not only from COVID-19: deaths from other diseases increased during the pandemic

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