Coronavirus becoming child rights crisis as 6,000 children could die daily: UNICEF

Coronavirus becoming child rights crisis as 6,000 children could die daily: UNICEF

An additional 6,000 children could die every day during the next six months from preventable causes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weaken health systems and disrupt routine services, warned UNICEF in a press release.

This estimate is based on an analysis that was published recently in The Lancet Global Health Journal by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In addition to the 2.5 million children who already die every six months before their 5th birthday in the 118 countries included in the study, these potential child deaths will threaten to reverse nearly a decade of progress towards ending preventable under-five mortality.

In just six months, there could also be some 56,700 more maternal deaths, in addition to the 144,000 deaths that already occur in the same countries over a six months’ period.

In the worst-case scenario, for the first time in decades, the global number of children dying before their fifth birthdays could increase, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has requested USD 1.6 billion to support its humanitarian response to the pandemic-impacted children.

“The pandemic is a health crisis which is quickly becoming a child rights crisis,” Fore added.

For hundreds of millions of children, access to essential services, such as routine immunization, has already been compromised and threatens a significant increase in child mortality.

According to a UNICEF analysis, around 77 per cent of children under the age of 18 worldwide live in one of 132 countries with restrictions on COVID-19 movement.

“Schools are closed, parents are out of work and families are under growing strain. As we begin to reimagine what a post-COVID world would look like, these funds will help us respond to the crisis, recover from its aftermath, and protect children from its knock-on effects,” Fore said.

UN WARNS OF MENTAL HEALTH

The UN agency also stressed that the mental health and psychosocial impact of school closures, subsequent isolation and restricted movement is likely to intensify already high-stress levels, particularly for vulnerable youth.

They maintained, at the same time, that children living under restricted movement and socio-economic decline are at greater risk of violence and neglect. Girls and women are at a higher risk of sexual violence and gender violence.

"We have seen what the pandemic is doing to countries with developed health systems and we are concerned about what it would do to countries with weaker systems and fewer available resources," Fore said.

UNICEF works in countries suffering from humanitarian crises to prevent transmission and mitigate collateral impacts on children, women and vulnerable populations-with a particular focus on access to health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education and protection.

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