Children are not the face of this pandemic. But they risk being among its biggest victims, as children’s lives are nonetheless being changed in profound ways. All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures that may inadvertently do more harm than good.
Moreover, the harmful effects of this pandemic will not be distributed equally. They are expected to be most damaging for children in the poorest countries, and in the poorest neighborhoods, and for those in already disadvantaged or vulnerable situations.
Exacerbating the learning crisis
The potential losses that may accrue in learning for today’s young generation, and for the development of their human capital, are hard to fathom. Schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost an entire year due to COVID-19 lockdowns, as of March 2020. Furthermore, around 214 million children globally – or 1 in 7 – have missed more than three-quarters of their in-person learning.
188 countries imposed countrywide school closures during the pandemic, affecting more than 1.6 billion children and youth. Even prior to the pandemic, however, children’s learning was in crisis, and the pandemic has only sharpened these inequities, hitting schoolchildren in poorer countries particularly hard. Globally, many schools lack the resources to invest in digital learning, and many children from poorer households do not have internet access.
At least one in three of the world’s schoolchildren – 463 million children globally – were unable to access remote learning when COVID-19 shuttered their schools. And the actual number of students who cannot be reached is likely significantly higher than this estimate. In many situations, despite remote learning policies and the presence of the necessary technology at home, children may be unable to learn due to skills gaps among their teachers or a lack of parental support.
Though national governments around the world have been quick to implement remote learning, new health protocols and reopening plans, these policies have varied widely based on each country’s wealth. Schoolchildren in the poorest countries have already lost nearly four months of schooling since the start of the pandemic, compared to six weeks in high-income countries. Even short disruptions in children’s schooling can have long-lasting negative impacts due to factors including the lack of structured programs for catching up. In the past, school closures have led to an increase in child marriage and child labor which often prevent children from continuing their education.
Source: https://data.unicef.org/covid-19-and-children/
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