Children and COVID-19 Research Library

Save the Children Somalia conducted a rapid assessment covering the entirety of Somalia between the 13th to 16th of April, 2020. The findings of the assessment will inform the defining and prioritizing of the RCCE strategy and key communication and community engagement plan; including contextualized key messages tailored to circumstances of vulnerable communities, defining key actions/activities, and tailor and test materials. Ultimately, the exercise will increase the effectiveness of our communication activities and therefore the impact of the overall response. Furthermore, meaningful participatory engagement and adapting messages to the local context and audience is also proven to lead to stronger ownership, buy-in, and commitment, as well as maintaining/increasing access, and strengthening the organization’s integrity and reputation. 

The briefing note examines the impediments of access to learning caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in northwest Syria, further compounding issues caused by conflict and years of underinvestment in the education sector in Syria. Save the Children surveyed 489 teachers in northern Syria to try and understand what they see and believe when it comes to the reasons that lead children to drop out of education and what would it take to bring them back.

The connection between civic space, civil society engagement and access to healthcare has been sharply highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Civil society around the world has mobilised to bring attention to the needs of the most vulnerable people, and demonstrated the invaluable role it plays in addressing inequities and championing health for all. It is this commitment and zeal that will make UHC possible. This study sets out why accountability is vital to achieving universal health coverage. It also makes the case for protecting and expanding civic space as a way of encouraging civic engagement, resulting in accountability. We put forward recommendations to governments and global health actors to improve meaningful civil society inclusion in health governance.

Save the Children conducted research in three refugee camps in Dadaab in Kenya which explored the impact of COVID-19 on children’s education, young mothers’ livelihoods and gender-based violence. This study highlights programmatic adaptations made in response to COVID-19, identifying what has worked well or less well and considers practical recommendations for the sector. The research gathered views from children, young mothers, caregivers and key stakeholders working in child protection and education in the camp.

COVID-19 outbreak has presented an unprecedented impact on the livelihoods of millions of children and their parents around the world. The disease is spreading at an alarming rate. By 23rd July, 15 406 223 million people were infected globally and 631,030 had died of the disease. At the same time, Somalia had registered 3,161 positive cases and 93 deaths. To better understand the impact of COVID-19 on child protection, livelihoods, health, nutrition, gender, and gender-based violence (GBV), a comprehensive cross-sectional study was conducted. The study was conducted using data from 1,569 adults, 456 (235 boys and 221 girls) children aged between 12 to 17 years, in combination with 24 Key Informant Interviewees randomly selected from 17 regions (comprising 41 districts) out of the 19 regions in Somalia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected children’s lives and their rights in countries around the world. Sweeping measures such as school closures, home isolation, and social distancing have been implemented as a response to the pandemic, causing disruptions to children’s lives and impacting their right to survive, learn, and be protected.  Save the Children launched a global research study to generate evidence on how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent mitigation measures are affecting children’s health, nutrition, education and learning, protection and wellbeing, family incomes and jobs, and poverty. The research was implemented in 46 countries, making it the largest and most comprehensive survey of children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic to date. This report presents findings from the survey undertaken in Cambodia, between June and July 2020, with data from a sample of 730 caregivers and 730 children from the provinces of Pursat (Veal Veng district), Kampong Chhnang (Kampong Tralach) and Tboung Khmum (Ou Reang Ov district).

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.

Pneumonia and diarrhea are leading killers of children under the age of five, claiming the lives of more young children globally than any other infectious disease. The impacts of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic aggravate these heath risks. International Vaccine Access Center's (IVAC) annual Pneumonia & Diarrhea Progress Report evaluates the progress across 10 high-impact indicators outlined in the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD) in the 15 countries with the greatest burden of under-five pneumonia and diarrhea deaths.

The world is facing an ongoing crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic. The first COVID-19 case in India was reported the 30th of January 2020, since then the numbers of cases has continued to rise. India has currently the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the United States of America. Children are facing considerable challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the impact on their health and the health of their caregivers, as well as severe economic and social consequences. However, there’s a lack of data with focus on COVID-19 and its effects on children. This study focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic affects children aged 11-17 in India.

The study explores differences in the impact and needs of children by country/state/city, age, gender, disability, type of minority group, and poverty indicators. The research is exploratory in nature, using primary quantitative data collected through online surveys using snowball sampling methods and secondary data on government interventions and numbers of COVID-19 cases/deaths. This knowledge is invaluable to Save the Children, partners, stakeholders, and governments, in informing the development of information products, services, programs, and policies in the health and education sectors.

In May, Save the Children conducted a survey with 87 beneficiaries of projects that have been implemented in partnership with CESESMA, FUNARTE, Los Pipitos, MILAVF, and the City Hall of Cua. The survey was aimed at parents of children and adolescents to gain better knowledge of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results set the foundation for this document and will support the definition and adaptation of current and future Save the Children interventions.

Women and girls in Bangladesh are facing increased domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is highlighting pre-existing systemic barriers to legal recourse, protection, and social services. This crisis comes as Bangladesh marks the anniversaries of two landmark pieces of legislation on gender-based violence (GBV) and enters the final phase of its plan to build a society free of violence against women and children. Despite this, evidence shows that women and girls still face extreme levels of violence. It is also apparent that survivors of GBV have little or no access to support or legal recourse. This report draws on 50 interviews to document the obstacles to realizing the Bangladeshi government’s goal of a society without violence against women and children. It presents key findings, as well as recommendations on how to move forward.

2020 was supposed to be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for women and girls. The year when governments, businesses, organisations and individuals who believe in equal treatment for all people were going to develop a five-year plan for how to work together to accelerate progress for gender equality, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Then COVID-19 struck. Now, 2020 risks being a year of irreversible setbacks and lost progress for girls. Unless the world acts fast and decisively, the impact on girls’ futures – and on all our futures – will be devastating.

Lack of legal protection to protect women from domestic violence and sexual abuse, as well as gender inequality when it comes to accessing political and economic opportunities are some of the remaining challenges faced by girls and women across Africa. When COVID-19 struck, rather than being the year of opportunity and change, 2020 risks being a year of irreversible setbacks and lost progress for girls. Unless the world acts fast and decisively, the impact on girls’ futures – and on all our futures – will be devastating. Even before the COVID-19 crisis hit, progress for girls on some issues was already under threat.

This briefing has three specific aims: 1) to assess the latest developments in government expenditure and revenue trends in low and lower-middle income countries, to understand how the protracted crisis is impacting; 2) to review latest available information about government budgetary allocations to education, health and social protection; 3) to provide recommendations for governments, international agencies and the private sector.