10 million children could never go back to school because of Covid-19
So far, the corona pandemic has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide. Most of the victims were over 65 years old. Although the symptoms in children are usually mild and their health is not directly threatened by the virus, they suffer greatly from the effects of Covid-19.
In an exciting podcast, Save the Children teams have gathered voices from children around the world to share their experiences and fears during the Corona pandemic. Listen to the stories of children from Colombia, India and South Africa in our podcast below:
The Corona pandemic changed my daily routine and my whole life. I can no longer go outside with my family, to football practice, to school or to the temporary learning centre of Save the Children.
The economic and social consequences of coronavirus often harm children more than the disease itself. The lockdown, school closures and overburdened health systems are changing the lives of millions of children around the world. The poorest and most vulnerable are the hardest hit.
86 million children are at high risk of slipping into poverty
6.7 million young children are at additional risk of being affected by acute malnutrition
Millions of children around the world could be further pushed into poverty
We can expect to see a shocking increase in inequality, poverty and violence against children. Nearly 10 million children are at high risk of never returning to school, as increasing poverty forces many children – especially girls – into child labour or early marriage by their families. In addition, up to 86 million children could fall into additional poverty by the end of the year as a result of the Corona pandemic. An additional 6.7 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition due to rising food prices in many countries and disruption of vital nutritional services.
I would say that we are all on the same ocean, but depending on where we live, we have different boats. Some of us are in yachts, some of us try to row our boat, some of us may only have rubber boats, and some of us are simply forced to swim alone. But nobody is safe until we are all safe. Now is the time to show absolute solidarity and make sure that the people who are swimming, that we take them in the lifeboats and make sure that we all get ashore safely.