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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

UNICEF Innocenti's curated library of COVID-19 + Children research

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91 - 105 of 181
Rise, respond, recover: renewing progress on women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health in the era of COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Jennifer Requejo

This action brief summarizes the latest status and trends of key areas related to women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being from a global perspective. It aims to promote coordinated action among global and national partners to recognize and overcome the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women, children and adolescents and to accelerate progress to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rise, Respond, Recover is an update to Protect the Progress: 2020 progress report on Every Woman Every Child Global Strategy for Women’s, Childrens’ and Adolescents’ Health (September 2020), capturing key evidence points presented in May 2021 to the World Health Assembly as well as top priorities and activities among partners.

Family-friendly policies for workers in the informal economy
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented, disastrous impact on the ability of people to balance work and care for their children and families. This policy brief is an outcome of a collaboration between Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in advocating for family-friendly policies to protect and ensure social protection and care systems that are good for children, good for women and good for the economy. The policy brief features an increased focus on the well-being and working conditions of caregivers in the informal economy and their children’s development in low- and middle-income countries. The brief highlights the need to consider sustainable policy and protection responses instead of quick, short-term measures for more gender-transformative and equitable solutions. This represents a critical gap which, if not addressed, will make our goals to tackle child poverty, hunger and gender inequality – and fulfil the SDGs – impossible to achieve. 
What’s next? Lessons on education recovery: findings from a survey of ministries of education amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Institution: UNESCO, *UNICEF, The World Bank
Published: June 2021

This report presents findings from the Survey of National Education Responses to COVID- 19, jointly conducted by UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank and OECD, and administered by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics and OECD. Three rounds of questionnaires have thus far been administered.1 This report focuses on responses to the survey’s more recent third round. All numbers presented and discussed in this report refer to the share of countries that responded to each relevant question in the survey. The number of countries that provided valid responses to the question are noted in each figure. Where relevant, countries that responded with ‘Don’t know’ or ‘Not applicable’, or countries with no response to any of the options or for a level of education, are excluded from the analysis. Caution is advised in generalizing the results represented in some figures as the countries that responded to this question cover less than 50 per cent of the total four- to 17-year-old population. These instances are noted under the respective figures. Detailed information on the country and student coverage of each figure, including by income group, is available in Annexes 1-3. In each country, the survey questionnaire was completed by the Ministry of Education officials responsible for education planning at the central or decentralized levels. The survey instrument was designed to capture de jure policy responses and perceptions from government officials on their effectiveness, providing a systematic understanding of deployed policies, practices and intentions to date.

Child Marriage in the context of COVID-19: Analysis of trends, programming and alternative approaches in the Middle East and North Africa

AUTHOR(S)
Camilla Landini; Shadia Elshiwy

Documented good practices, programmatic interventions and alternative approaches that has been implemented in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child marriage in the Middle East and North Africa region is presented in this study. Furthermore, key recommendations for strengthening child marriage prevention programming during the COVID-19 pandemic are presented.
Building a resilient generation in Central Asia and Europe
Institution: *UNICEF, European Training Foundation
Published: June 2021
What are the hopes, concerns, and expectations of young people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) about their futures and the role of education, social inclusion, and the environment? This UNICEF-ETF joint report brings youth voices, views, and sentiments from the ECA region as a contribution to the regional and global discussions on how to create better lifelong learning systems, more inclusive communities, and greener societies.
Ready to start school, learn and work: evidence from three education programmes for out-of-school children and adolescents in Bangladesh

AUTHOR(S)
Marco Valenza; Cirenia Chávez; Annika Rigole (et al.)

Institution: *UNICEF
Published: June 2021
Children in the Sylhet division, in the Northeast of Bangladesh, face complex challenges in accessing quality education, at all school levels. The region ranks among the poorest performers in learning attainment across education levels. UNICEF Bangladesh and its partners have leveraged resources from the Let Us Learn (LUL) initiative to deliver three alternative learning pathways for out-of-school children and adolescents in remote areas of Sylhet. The three pathways cover key transition points in a child’s education: Getting ready to start school (Pre-Primary Education programme), learning foundational skills (A​bility-B​ased Accelerated Learning programme) and entering the job market (Alternative Learning Pathway programme). This report presents evidence on the achievements of the three programmes, highlighting key policy recommendations. The findings draw on analysis of programme monitoring data, qualitative case studies, focus group discussions and interviews. This paper is one of a series of research reports presenting emerging evidence on programmes supported by the LUL initiative, which aims to expand quality learning opportunities for disadvantaged children in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Liberia, Madagascar and Nepal.
From faith to action: inter-religious action to protect the rights of children affected by migration

AUTHOR(S)
Susanna Trotta; Johanne Kjaersgaard; Mario Mosquera (et al.)

Institution: *UNICEF
Published: June 2021

This publication highlights the actual and potential roles of faith actors in contributing towards an effective and holistic response to child displacement in Europe and Central Asia. It illustrates a plurality of ways in which faith actors actively support children and youth on the move, including through ensuring protection and social inclusion, providing spiritual and psychosocial support, countering xenophobia and discrimination, and advocating for policy changes.

Do no harm: maternal, newborn and infant care during COVID-19
Institution: *UNICEF, International Paediatric Association
Published: June 2021

The purpose of this brief is to summarize current evi[1]dence and guidance for maintaining safe and effec[1]tive care across the spectrum of maternal, newborn and infant care while protecting mother and child and health care providers during COVID-19. Furthermore, we review implications of the principle of “do no harm” for maternal, newborn and infant care deliv[1]ery during COVID-19, so that this information is con[1]veniently and readily available to clinical and health system policy leaders and stakeholders in countries and communities. Additionally, considerations for safe oxygen delivery as well as key Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures at home and in health[1]care facilities for pregnant women, newborns and children are described in detail later in the brief.

Child labour: global estimates 2020, trends and the road forward
Institution: *UNICEF, International Labour Organization
Published: June 2021

The latest global estimates indicate that the number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide – an increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years. 63 million girls and 97 million boys were in child labour globally at the beginning of 2020, accounting for almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide. This report warns that global progress to end child labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years. The number of children aged 5 to 17 years in hazardous work – defined as work that is likely to harm their health, safety or morals – has risen by 6.5 million to 79 million since 2016. In sub-Saharan Africa, population growth, extreme poverty, and inadequate social protection measures have led to an additional 16.6 million children in child labour over the past four years. Additional economic shocks and school closures caused by COVID-19 mean that children already in child labour may be working longer hours or under worsening conditions, while many more may be forced into the worst forms of child labour due to job and income losses among vulnerable families. The report warns that globally 9 million additional children are at risk of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 as a result of the pandemic. Children in child labour are at risk of physical and mental harm. Child labour compromises children’s education, restricting their rights and limiting their future opportunities, and leads to vicious inter-generational cycles of poverty and child labour.

Analysis of the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on households and strategic policy recommendations for Indonesia
Institution: *UNICEF, UNDP, SMERU Research Institute, Prospera
Published: May 2021
In an effort to understand the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on women, families with children, vulnerable groups, and people with disabilities, the largest household survey recorded in Indonesia was launched between October and December 2020. Through qualitative interviews, over 12,000 families — across 34 provinces and 247 districts — were surveyed. The results revealed information about the impact of COVID-19 on employment, micro-businesses, food security, access to health, educational services and access to social protection programmes. On a deeper level, it provided insight into the impact of the pandemic on children’s development and wellbeing.
A gendered analysis of child protection systems responses in Covid-19 programming in South Asia

AUTHOR(S)
Deborah Fry; Karina Padilla; Lakshmi Neelakantan (et al.)

Institution: University of Edinburgh, *UNICEF
Published: May 2021
Across South Asia child protection actors have been critical in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring children have continued access to services, mitigating new and increased risks and promoting mental health and wellbeing. This study explores the changes which took place in child protection systems across South Asia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and documents promising practices, programmatic innovations, challenges and lessons learnt from UNICEF’s programming with partners. The study found that key elements of complex adaptive systems are present within the child protection system responses to COVID-19 in the South Asia region. Importantly, there were three common factors across all case study examples that contributed to the success of the interventions and were highlighted as lessons learned: multi-level strategies, strong partnerships and building on existing initiatives and systems.
Levels and trends in child malnutrition : UNICEF, WHO, World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates : key findings of the 2021 edition
Institution: *UNICEF, World Health Organization, The World Bank
Published: May 2021
The UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank inter-agency team update the joint global and regional estimates of malnutrition among children under 5 years of age each year. These estimates of prevalence and numbers affected for child stunting, overweight, wasting and severe wasting are derived for the global population as well as by regional groupings of United Nations (UN) regions and sub-regions, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), UNICEF, WHO and World Bank regions, as well as World Bank country-income group classifications.
Real-Time Assessment (RTA) of UNICEF’s response to COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean
Institution: *UNICEF
Published: April 2021

During the first quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in LAC in a context of social and economic vulnerability and persisting high inequality. At the time, countries in the region were already experiencing a weakening of socioeconomic indicators and of social cohesion, and a rise in expressions of popular discontent and political crisis. In the decade following the global financial crisis (2010-2019), GDP growth for the region dropped from 6 to 0.2 percent. This RTA was conceived as a ‘light-touch’ evaluative exercise to assess how four COs adapted and implemented their response to COVID-19. Nevertheless, the RTA synthesis findings and conclusions are not fully representative of UNICEF’s overall response in the region, which  encompasses 24 country offices operating in highly diverse local contexts. The Evaluation section at UNICEF LACRO and the RTA team adopted a flexible approach in adjusting objectives, scope, and methods throughout the evaluative process to ensure the usability of the recommendations. The focus of the RTA evolved from an initial programmatic approach (‘what to prioritize’) to an analysis of the quality of the response (‘how to reinforce quality’).

COVID-19 impact on the remittances: Assessment of coping mechanisms of families with children from the Republic of Moldova
Institution: *UNICEF, USAID
Published: April 2021

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting economic crisis, UNICEF in the Republic of Moldova commissioned research to assess the impact of the reduced flow of remittances on families with children in the areas of health, education, nutrition and other child related social services, and to drive the development of an equity-focused and gender-sensitive midterm mitigation plan. The report revealed that worryingly, 15 per cent of households with children have even had to cut down on meals, especially expensive categories of food such as meat, fish, fruit and vegetables.

Social protection and Venezuelan migration in Latin America and the Caribbean in the context of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an enormous challenge for all countries due to its public health consequences and socio-economic effects on families. In this difficult context, the Latin America and the Caribbean region is facing the largest displacement in its recent history, with approximately 4.2 million Venezuelans now living in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. This migrant population faces various risks, whether linked to the migration process or their migratory status, or others that were aggravated by the health emergency. Their extreme vulnerability to the socioeconomic impacts of the measures adopted in response to COVID-19, given their overrepresentation in the informal sector of the economy, coupled with their low inclusion in social protection mechanisms, profoundly jeopardizes their welfare and compromises public health as well as the overall well-being of local populations. Faced with this scenario, social protection may play a fundamental role in reducing the vulnerabilities of migrants and in helping to mitigate the impact of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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UNICEF Innocenti's Children and COVID-19 Library is a database collecting research from around the world on COVID-19 and its impacts on children and adolescents.

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COVID-19 & Children: Rapid Research Response

UNICEF Innocenti is mobilizing a rapid research response in line with UNICEF’s global response to the COVID-19 crisis. The initiatives we’ve begun will provide the broad range of evidence needed to inform our work to scale up rapid assessment, develop urgent mitigating strategies in programming and advocacy, and preparation of interventions to respond to the medium and longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. The research projects cover a rapid review of evidence, education analysis, and social and economic policies.