Children and COVID-19 Research Library

Vaccinating children against COVID-19 is an essential public health strategy in order to reach herd immunity and prevent illness among children and adults. Parents are facing tremendous stress in relation to the COVID - 19 pandemic and the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccination program for children. In this study, we aimed to investigate parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 in North Kivu province (DRC). A cross-sectional survey between 1 December 2021to 20 January 2022 in six health zones (Goma, Karisimbi, Butembo, Beni, Kamango, and Katwa) was conducted in the province of North Kivu. In each health zone, we selected five clusters (Health area) using the method of probabilistic selection proportional to population size. In total, 522 parents participated in our study.

This report presents an analysis of the impact of school closures as a COVID-19 response measure in the DRC, and is intended to inform evidence-based programming to mitigate the short- and long-term consequences to health, protection, and education of children and adolescents in the DRC. It demonstrates that the impact of school closures does not end with the reopening of schools; the evidence shared in this report highlight the long-term impacts that will continue to be felt following two extended periods of school closures in the DRC, and calls for an urgent response.

Lessons learned from past public health crises shed light on the potential consequences of epidemics, not only on the health of women and girls, but on all aspects of their lives. Today, faced with COVID-19, only 52% of countries provide sex-disaggregated data on morbidity and mortality related to COVID-19. Analyses of the broader impacts of the pandemic and the public health measures put in place to control its spread on women and girls are still too scarce.

The purpose of this study was to enable Save the Children to understand and identify the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ebola epidemic on children. This study, its results and recommendations will be shared with different stakeholders to adapt our responses and interventions to save thousands of children's lives.