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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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Research Report

Food security and diets in urban Asia: how resilient are food systems in times of COVID-19?

AUTHOR(S)
Heather Ohly; Martyn Clark; Sonja Read (et al.)

Institution: World Food Programme
Published: February 2022

Vulnerable populations in urban areas globally have been among the worst hit by the global COVID-19 crisis. In South and South-East Asia, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased levels of vulnerability and food insecurity in cities through disruptions to food supply chains, increased food prices and loss of income. In 2021, the World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBB) and Dikoda undertook an assessment to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on food systems in eight selected cities in the Asia/Pacific region. This research assesses the resilience and adaptability of urban food systems by exploring external drivers, food supply chains, food environments, individual factors, consumer behaviour and diet outcomes. The report triangulates findings between qualitative research carried out by Dikoda, WFP assessments and external sources to provide regional insights, as well as eight city-specific briefs on local-level impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerabilities. This report presents recommendations for improving policy-response to external shocks specific to urban South and South-East Asian contexts and methodological recommendations for better tracking of vulnerability in urban contexts.

Journal article

Pre-pandemic to early-pandemic changes in risk of household food insecurity among Maryland families with children

AUTHOR(S)
Alysse J. Kowalski; Ann Pulling Kuhn; Hannah G. Lane (et al.)

Published: December 2021 Journal: Public Health Nutrition

The objective of this study was to examine risk and protective factors associated with pre- to early-pandemic changes in risk of household food insecurity (FI). Families from two statewide studies (2017-2020) in an observational cohort (May-August 2020) were re-enrolled. Caregivers reported on risk of household FI, demographics, pandemic-related hardships, and participation in safety net programs (e.g. CARES stimulus payment, school meals).

Evidence Synthesis and other Reviews

Lessons learned for emergency feeding during modifications to 11 school feeding programs in Latin America and the Caribbean during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Uriyoán Colón-Ramos; Rafael Monge-Rojas; Jael Goldsmith Weil (et al.)

Published: December 2021 Journal: Food and Nutrition Bulletin

School feeding programs (SFPs) can play a crucial role in the emergency food and nutrition response, but there is a dearth of information on how SFPs operate during emergencies. A rapid comparative assessment of 11 SFPs throughout Latin America and the Caribbean during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from (1) systematic document search and (2) surveys with key informants (n = 23) about barriers/facilitators to modifications were systematically analyzed using a multiple case study approach.

Cite this research | Open access | Language: English | Topics: Social Protection, Well-being and Equity, Nutrition | Tags: child care services, child nutrition, COVID-19 response, food aid, food policies, lockdown, pandemic, school feeding programmes, social distance

Research Report

“Consult us on what concerns us”: children’s recommendations for the hunger response in South Sudan

AUTHOR(S)
Ronald Apunyo; Nasir Khan Yousafzai

Published: November 2021

Save the Children’s South Sudan country office held consultations with children to explore the impact of hunger, flooding, and the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Save the Children has been providing humanitarian assistance to children and communities affected by these disasters, striving to support them through extremely challenging times. Our children’s consultations were aimed at exploring children’s views of Save the Children’s response so far, and the wider humanitarian response in the region. Their answers, detailing how they deal with hunger and its effects on them, their families, and communities, will help us to understand and document how children’s voices, needs, priorities, and recommendations should be included in the local humanitarian response. This assessment also gives us an overview of how children are involved in decision-making processes, and to what extent we are addressing their needs.

Cite this research | No. of pages: 30 | Language: English | Topics: Education, Health, Social Protection, Well-being and Equity, Nutrition | Tags: child health, child nutrition, COVID-19 response, food aid, food policies, lockdown, social distance, social inequality | Countries: Sudan | Publisher: Save the Children

Journal article

Changes in accessibility to emergency and community food services during COVID-19 and implications for low income populations in Hamilton, Ontario

AUTHOR(S)
Christopher D. Higgins; Antonio Páez; Gyoorie Kim (et al.)

Published: October 2021 Journal: Social Science & Medicine

This paper analyzes the changes in accessibility to emergency and community food services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the City of Hamilton, Ontario. Many of these food services are the last line of support for households facing food insecurity; as such, their relevance cannot be ignored in the midst of the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic. This analysis is based on the application of balanced floating catchment areas and concentrates on households with lower incomes (<CAD40,000, approximately the Low Income Cutoff Value for a city of Hamilton's size).

Journal article

SNAP participation among low-income US households stays stagnant while food insecurity escalates in the months following the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Punam Ohri-Vachaspati; Francesco Acciai; Robin S. DeWeese

Published: September 2021 Journal: Preventive Medicine Reports

The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased food-insecurity rates, particularly among low-income households. Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was expected to rise in response. This study surveyed 931 US residents from households with annual incomes below $50,000 to collect information on food security and food assistance program participation in the year prior to the pandemic and in the first four months of the pandemic, along with household and individual-level demographics. Food insecurity increased from 31% prior to the pandemic to 39% in the first four months of the pandemic, while SNAP participation stagnated. Even more alarmingly, among low-income households that were also food-insecure, 47% participated in SNAP prior to the pandemic but only 39% did so in the first four months following the pandemic’s onset. In particular, Black households, households with children, and those in the lowest income category experienced the largest declines in SNAP participation. Food assistance programs designed to alleviate hunger should facilitate participation among the most vulnerable, especially when these groups are faced with multiple challenges, like during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 17 | Language: English | Topics: Health, Social Protection, Well-being and Equity, Nutrition | Tags: child health, child nutrition, COVID-19 response, food aid, household food security, lockdown, low income families, racial discrimination, social distance | Countries: United States

Journal article

Food insecurity among households with children during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a study among social media users across the United States

AUTHOR(S)
Niyati Parekh; Shahmir H. Ali; Joyce O’Connor (et al.)

Published: August 2021 Journal: Nutrition Journal volume

In the United States, approximately 11% of households were food insecure prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to describe the prevalence of food insecurity among adults and households with children living in the United States during the pandemic. This study utilized social media as a recruitment platform to administer an original online survey on demographics and COVID-related food insecurity. The survey was disseminated through an advertisement campaign on Facebook and affiliated platforms. Food insecurity was assessed with a validated six-item United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Household Food Security Survey Module, which was used to create a six-point numerical food security score, where a higher score indicates lower food security. Individual-level participant demographic information was also collected. Logistic regressions (low/very-low compared with high/marginal food security) were performed to generate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95%CIs for food insecurity and select demographic characteristics.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 11 | Language: English | Topics: Social Protection, Well-being and Equity, Nutrition | Tags: child nutrition, child well-being, COVID-19 response, food aid, household food security, lockdown, parent-child relationship, social distance | Countries: United States

Journal article

COVID-19-induced disruptions of school feeding services exacerbate food insecurity in Nigeria

AUTHOR(S)
Kibrom A. Abay; Mulubrhan Amare; Luca Tiberti (et al.)

Published: May 2021 Journal: The Journal of Nutrition

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated lockdown measures have disrupted educational and nutrition services globally. Understanding the overall and differential impacts of disruption of nutritional(school feeding) services is critical for designing effective post-COVID-19 recovery policies.Objectives:The aim of this study was to examine the impact of COVID-19-induced disruption of school feeding services on household food security in Nigeria.

Journal article

Maintaining essential nutrition services to underfive children in Yemen: a programmatic adaptation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Ferima Coulibaly-Zerbo; Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh; Zita C. Weise Prinzo (et al.)

Published: April 2021 Journal: Children

The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged that, as health services divert their attention to the COVID-19 pandemic, the delivery of essential nutrition services may be compromised. This impact may be more pronounced in the context of humanitarian crises, such as the one currently unfolding in Yemen. In line with Pillar 9 of the WHO’s COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, this paper reports on the nutrition program adaptations in Yemen to maintain the delivery of essential nutrition services to under-five children. The process of adaptation focused on the services provided within the nutrition surveillance system (NSS), therapeutic feeding centers (TFC), and isolation units (IU).

Journal article

Disaster management and school nutrition: a qualitative study of emergency feeding during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Emily Vaterlaus Patten; Lori Spruance; J. Mitchell Vaterlaus

Published: April 2021 Journal: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

School nutrition programs mitigate child food insecurity across the United States. With the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, kindergarten through grade 12 physical school campuses closed, which led to those programs transitioning to emergency feeding. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction has 4 action priorities that guided the assessment of school nutrition employees’ emergency response during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study's aim was to explore the experience of school nutrition employees as they provided emergency feeding services during the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate their actions based on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction .

Journal article

Reorienting nurturing care for early childhood development during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya: a review

AUTHOR(S)
Constance Shumba; Rose Maina; Gladys Mbuthia (et al.)

Published: October 2020 Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

In Kenya, millions of children have limited access to nurturing care. With the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is anticipated that vulnerable children will bear the biggest brunt of the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic. This review aimed to deepen understanding of the effects of COVID-19 on nurturing care from conception to four years of age, a period where the care of children is often delivered through caregivers or other informal platforms. The review has drawn upon the empirical evidence from previous pandemics and epidemics, and anecdotal and emerging evidence from the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Multifactorial impacts fall into five key domains: direct health; health and nutrition systems; economic protection; social and child protection; and child development and early learning. The review proposes program and policy strategies to guide the reorientation of nurturing care, prevent the detrimental effects associated with deteriorating nurturing care environments, and support the optimal development of the youngest and most vulnerable children. These include the provision of cash transfers and essential supplies for vulnerable households and strengthening of community-based platforms for nurturing care.

Journal article

Addressing food insecurity through a health equity lens: a case study of large urban school districts during the COVID-19 pandemics

Institution: The Lancet
Published: September 2020 Journal: Journal of Urban Health

Reduced access to school meals during public health emergencies can accelerate food insecurity and nutritional status, particularly for low-income children in urban areas. To prevent the exacerbation of health disparities, there is a need to understand the implementation of meal distribution among large urban school districts during emergencies and to what degree these strategies provide equitable meal access. This case study of four large urban school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic aims to address these knowledge gaps. Guided by the Getting to Equity (GTE) framework, this mixed-methods study evaluates emergency meal distribution and strategy implementation in four large urban school districts (Chicago Public Schools, Houston Independent School District, Los Angeles Unified School District, and New York City Department of Education).

Journal article

Emergency food provision for children and families during the COVID‐19 pandemic: examples from five U.S. cities

AUTHOR(S)
Becca B. R. Jablonski; Joy Casnovsky; Jill K. Clark (et al.)

Published: September 2020 Journal: Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy

As lockdown and school closure policies were implemented in response to the coronavirus, the federal government provided funding and relaxed its rules to support emergency food provision, but not guidance on best practices for effectiveness. Accordingly, cities developed a diverse patchwork of emergency feeding programs. This article uses qualitative data to provide insight into emergency food provision developed in five cities to serve children and families. Based on our qualitative analysis, we find that the effectiveness of local approaches appears to depend on: (i) cross‐sector collaboration, (ii) supply chains, and (iii) addressing gaps in service to increased risk populations.

Policy brief

Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security in Africa

Institution: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Published: August 2020

In addition to its drastic impact to human health globally, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on the economies globally and notably in Africa. Countries on the continent have taken various measures to try and contain the spread of COVID-19 such as lockdowns, curfews, closure of borders and other movement restrictions including quarantines and roadblocks, closure of markets, fear of animals, among others. Early indications suggest that the impact on agriculture and food security and levels of poverty and malnutrition will be significant if urgent actions are not taken. Although the economic impacts of COVID-19 will be more significant than the SARS epidemic, the H1N1 flu epidemic and the Ebola epidemic, COVID-19 impact on economic well-being will be observed through two distinct but similar channels. First are the direct and indirect effects of the sickness and mortality, which will lead to an increase in health care costs and loss of economic activity of infected individuals during their illness. Second, are the behavioral effects resulting from people’s fear of contagion and measures taken by governments to control the spread of the infection. The impacts of essential containment/isolation and distancing measures on social and economic well-being are yet to be realized and could have tremendous effects, notably among the most vulnerable.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 14 | Language: English | Topics: Child Poverty, Social Protection, Well-being and Equity, Nutrition | Tags: child nutrition, COVID-19 response, economic crisis, food aid, food policies, household food security, multi-country, social inequality | Publisher: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Journal article

Addressing the consequences of school closure due to COVID-19 on children's physical and mental well-being

AUTHOR(S)
Jessica A. Hoffman; Edward A. Miller

Published: August 2020 Journal: World Medical & Health Policy

This article focuses on the physical and emotional toll resulting from school closures and the withdrawal of nonacademic supports that students rely on. The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a spotlight on how important schools are for meeting children's nonacademic needs.

Cite this research | No. of pages: 300-310 | Language: English | Topics: Education, Mental Health | Tags: child care services, child well-being, food aid, obesity, psychological distress, school attendance

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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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