Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This viewpoint offers a commentary on the status of Nepalese children of migrant workers in the brick kilns of the construction industry and the potential impacts of COVID-19 on their lives. The paper identifies a temporal cycle of movement in the life of a child from a migrant working family with the variances that need to be taken into consideration by stakeholders to tackle child labour, and to reduce risks to children of migrant workers posed by the current pandemic. It draws on the education and emergencies literature to examine ‘lessons learned’ and considers key questions to ask in the time of COVID-19, especially in the education sector, to mitigate further entrenchment of exclusion of this group of children in Nepal.

This article compares and contrasts two humanitarian emergencies and their impact on Nepal: these are the Nepal earthquake in 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It explains how each emergency has impacted children without parental care or at risk of family separation, with specific reference to orphanage trafficking, voluntourism, child institutionalisation and family preservation. In relation to each emergency, the article considers the role of disaster preparedness; the roles of the Nepal government, the international community and civil society; and the significance of one emergency being localised, while the other is a global phenomenon. It also shows that while these emergencies have increased the risk of harm and exploitation for children and families, they have also driven forward innovation in child protection practices, particularly through the use of reintegration, case management and family preservation programmes.

The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to serious socio-economic consequences globally. These impacts are disproportionately disruptive to vulnerable groups and low- and middle-income countries. This paper explores the case of Nepal and challenges faced by NGOs and community-based organisations (CBOs) to reduce child labour in brick production, embroidery (zari) and the carpet industry amidst the strict lockdown laws, and industry closure during the pandemic. The case of the Sakriya Project, a child protection initiative headed by World Education Inc. (WEI) Nepal illustrates challenges and opportunities for social work in building capacity to support this vulnerable population during the pandemic.

Nepal was in nationwide lockdown for nearly three months in 2020 with partial restrictions still in place. Much worryingly, COVID-19 induced restrictions have confined women and young girls in their home, increasing the risk of domestic violence. The available support system to respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG) has also been disrupted during this period. The figures of violence against women, and child sexual abuse are increasingly being reported during the lockdown and thereafter. To mitigate this, a response against VAWG should not be a missing agenda. This commentary focuses on the situation of VAWG during COVID-19 induced restrictions in Nepal and offers a way forward for addressing the issue.

While children so far have not faced direct health effects of COVID-19- the crisis is having a profound effect on their wellbeing. During the lockdown, children are more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation while their schooling is seriously disturbed. Therefore, with the objective to collect, analyze and disseminate authentic information on the situation of children in Nepal during the pandemic, Consortium Nepal conducted a research titled ‘Assessment of Child Wellbeing during COVID-19’. This assessment is accompanied by collecting responses of children, parents and local government representatives/officials from selected districts across Nepal. For the purpose, separate questionnaires were developed for all these stakeholders. Being a descriptive study, questions were developed so as to collect qualitative data as per the need and availability.

The Asia Pacific region has seen significant progress in gender equality in recent years in a number of areas, such as education and political participation. From 2000-2016, the number of out-of-school girls in primary and secondary school dropped by 67 million. 1 The number of females in tertiary school rose by 41 million. From 1990 to 2018 the proportion of women in national parliaments has risen from 8 percent to18 percent. Unfortunately, in other areas, Asia and the Pacific have seen a decline in equality. According to UNESCAP, women’s economic empowerment has remained nearly stagnant and those who are young and in the informal labour market are expected to be hit the hardest. The East Asia Pacific Region is one of the only regions in the world where rates of teenage pregnancy are increasing in low-and-middle-income countries.Any emergency risks increasing existing discriminations and incidents of violence. It also risks losing progress so recently made for girls and young women. The COVID-19 Pandemic is an emergency on a scale not seen for nearly 100 years.