Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This dataset provides an insight into the reality and experiences of online learning as perceived by secondary school students in Vietnam during COVID-related school closures. The dataset addresses four main aspects of online learning, namely (a) students’ access to learning devices, (b) their digital skill readiness, (c) their experience with online learning and assessment activities, and (d) their overall evaluation of the effectiveness of online learning. The survey was administered online via Google Form from September to December 2021 with responses received from 5,327 secondary school students in 5 provinces of Vietnam. The dataset is expected to benefit local educators, administrators, and teachers who are interested in COVID educational practices and pedagogical interventions. The dataset can also benefit international researchers who wish to conduct comparative studies on student online learning or who wish to seek further insight into the responsiveness of an educational system to pandemic situations.

This paper presents a dataset concerning the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and home confinement on the educational community and families, and the possibilities and opportunities for the return to schools. Data were collected through an online based cross-sectional survey between June 29, 2020 and July 12, 2020 in Spain. A total of 7,305 people who had children in their care during the COVID-19 crisis and the home-confinement period responded to the survey. The survey contained items concerning (i) socio-demographic information, (ii) conciliation of work, personal and family life during confinement, (iii) the impact of the pandemic on the respondent's family, and (iv) the respondents' opinion on their child(ren)'s return to school. Data were analysed using Stata (version 14) and are represented as frequencies and percentages based on responses to the entire survey.

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 neighbourhoods, and for those in already disadvantaged or vulnerable situations. 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. 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.

This dashboard is based on quarterly updates of recent data collection efforts from UNICEF country offices drawing on best available sources in each country, including administrative data or representative survey data collected in the last 3 months; or where necessary, extrapolations from reliable localized quantitative and/or qualitative reports. Estimates may not accurately represent the full national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the challenges of traditional data collection efforts during the pandemic, this dashboard offers relevant early indication of impacts on the disruption of essential services.

The progress in reducing child mortality around the world has been remarkable. Under-five mortality rates have declined by almost 60 per cent since 1990, and as a result millions more children survive to adolescence today than they did three decades ago. The impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, threatens years of improvement in child and adolescent survival through the interruption of essential health services. Even before the coronavirus captured the world’s attention, it was clear that if survival targets were to be met, resources and policy would need to be geared towards accelerating progress and not just maintaining it.

With COVID-19, the world’s 79.5 million refugees and forcibly displaced people are among the most exposed and vulnerable. For people who fled wars and persecution, the impact on their mostly hand-to-mouth existence and on their hosts has been devastating. This portal provides a live dashboard on the impact of Covid-19 on borders closures, guidance documents and country specific details on their operational pages.

Governments around the world have implemented a number of different measures in response to COVID-19 outbreaks. These include measures that aim to contain the spread of the virus (such as movement restrictions and border closings), measures to mitigate the economic consequences (such as income support), as well as measures related to the health system (such as testing policies and contact tracing). Billions of people are affected by these measures. Although children have been largely spared the direct health effects of COVID-19, the indirect impacts – including enormous socioeconomic challenges – are potentially catastrophic for children. For migrant and displaced children, the effects can be graver still.

Coronavirus-related service disruptions threaten to reverse the decade-long progress made for children and pregnant women in the fight against HIV.

Timely, disaggregated, and quality data on the situation of children can help identify where the most vulnerable live so that interventions to counteract the potential adverse effects of COVID-19 can be implemented to reach those most in need. UNICEF’s call to protect children, especially the most marginalized, is essential now more than ever and our global databases can inform that response by painting a picture of children around the world. In the face of this unprecedented crisis, where are children especially vulnerable to physical punishment? Are sufficient hygiene facilities available in schools? And is healthcare accessible for children with acute respiratory symptoms? How will the most vulnerable children, such as those living on the street or in refugee camps fare? Data like these can provide guidance for UNICEF and country programmes so that our efforts to mitigate and overcome the effects of the pandemic can be measured.

This dashboard shows country-level data  on the impact of COVID-19 on national education systems. The COVID-19 page provides an overview of the impact caused by the current outbreak on different aspects of education and learning.

Washing hands frequently and properly with soap and water is critical to preventing diseases. Yet the latest global estimates find that 3 billion people lacked soap and water at home, 900 million children lacked soap and water at their school, and 40% of health care facilities were not equipped to practice hand hygiene at points of care. Adequate water, sanitation and hygiene services for households, schools and healthcare facilities are essential to prevent the spread of infectious diseases including COVID-19. The low levels of coverage of these basic services in many parts of the world reflect substantial inequalities between and within countries and contribute to the vulnerability of these populations to the pandemic.

The Humanitarian Data Exchange COVID-19 crisis page provides an overview of the spread of COVID-19 in locations with a Humanitarian Response Plan in place. It also lists datasets and draws information from various institutions, including IOM, UNHCR, WHO, UNICEF, The World Bank, as well as Oxford and Johns Hopkins Universities.

The Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) systematically collects information on several different common policy responses that governments have taken to respond to the pandemic on 18 indicators such as school closures and travel restrictions. It now has data from more than 180 countries.