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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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16 - 30 of 104
Afghanistan: a children's crisis
Institution: World Vision
Published: August 2022

Afghanistan is a country defined by the resilience and tenacity of its citizens – of its communities, its families, its children. Despite years of conflict, political changes, economic instability, and natural disasters, hard won development gains were realised, beginning to open doors for new opportunities and brighter futures for Afghanistan’s girls and boys. Today, those gains are at risk and the situation for children is more precarious than ever, in the face of what some class as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Political change, and the impact of this on the policies, decisions, and investments of the international aid community, coupled with the compounded effects of displacement, climate shocks, and lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, are pushing food insecurity to levels not seen before. This is challenging the ability of families to survive daily life, contributing to the rapid deterioration of the public health system, and ultimately, placing the rights and protection of Afghanistan’s children at risk. This report highlights how children and their families have been impacted by recent changes to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. It provides an analysis of new primary research from four provinces, secondary data, and the testimonies of children and their families, who describe, in their own words, how the worsening situation in Afghanistan is impacting them.

“We will die in poverty before dying by COVID”: Young adults and multilayered crises in Afghanistan

AUTHOR(S)
Orzala Nemat; Vidya Diwakar; Ihsanullah Ghafoori (et al.)

Institution: Save the Children
Published: August 2022
Afghanistan experienced an extraordinary situation in 2021 that presents a complex example of how an intensified level of conflict and the global COVID-19 pandemic of added to an increasing prevalence of drought due to climate change has been affecting people’s livelihoods from different angles. In pre-August 2021, the country experienced record-level violence across the provinces. This was followed by the gradual fall of districts, provinces and finally the capital Kabul into the hands of the current de facto authorities, the Taliban. Meanwhile, like any other part of the world, Afghanistan also experienced the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which hindered people’s access to jobs, health care and different sources of revenue. Alongside this, the second-worst drought in 4 years (IFRC, 2021) has widely affected the livelihoods of the majority of people who rely on agriculture and livestock as the sole source of income. There has been limited research into how these situations have combined to affect livelihoods and wellbeing in Afghanistan. This article by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit attempts to advance understanding of this issue and promote research that investigates overlapped crises.
Nowcasting impact of COVID-19 on multidimensional child poverty

AUTHOR(S)
Olivera Fiala; Aristide Kielem; Enrique Delamónica (et al.)

Published: July 2022   Journal: Statistical Journal of the IAOS
From the onset, it was clear that the impact of the global economic and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was unlikely to affect all children equally. Thus, it was necessary to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on child poverty as the events unfolded. Many of the indirect effects of the pandemic – disruptions to health services, delayed vaccination programmes, widespread school closures, and increases in food insecurity – have significant impacts on the realisation of children’s rights and, consequently, were expected to increase material deprivations across different dimensions. The question was by how much? In this article we explain the modelling and methodological approach to project or nowcast the answer to that question. The method is dynamic as it was revised as additional information emerged during 2020 and 2021.
Implications of COVID-19 labour market shock for child and household hungers in South Africa: do social protection programs protect?

AUTHOR(S)
Dambala Gelo; Johane Dikgang

Published: July 2022   Journal: Plos One

Recent studies have confirmed that the COVID-19 lockdown has caused massive job losses. However, the impact of this loss on food security is not well-understood. Moreover, a paucity of evidence exists regarding social protection grants’ countervailing effects against such shocks. This study examined the effects of job loss (labour income loss) on child and household hungers (our two measures food insecurity) during COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. It also ascertained whether these effect were offset by alternative social grant programs to document the protective role of the latter.It used South Africa’s National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) and the Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) data. These data cover a nationally representative sample of 7073 individuals. We employed a probit model to estimate the effect of job loss and receipts of various social grants on child and households’ hungers. It also estimated the double-selection logit model to account for the model’s uncertainty surrounding the variable selection and treatment-effects estimation using lasso (Telasso) for causal inference of our analysis.

Family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: the risks of financial insecurity and coping

AUTHOR(S)
Marybel R. Gonzalez; Sandra A. Brown; William E. Pelham 3. (et al.)

Published: June 2022   Journal: Journal of Research on Adolescence
During the COVID-19 pandemic, families have experienced unprecedented financial and social disruptions. This research studied the impact of preexisting psychosocial factors and pandemic-related financial and social disruptions in relation to family well-being among N = 4091 adolescents and parents during early summer 2020, participating in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study. Poorer family well-being was linked to prepandemic psychosocial and financial adversity and was associated with pandemic-related material hardship and social disruptions to routines. Parental alcohol use increased risk for worsening of family relationships, while a greater endorsement of coping strategies was mainly associated with overall better family well-being. Financial and mental health support may be critical for family well-being during and after a widespread crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inclusive learning for children in Northeast Nigeria: radio school response during a global pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Margaret Ebubedike; Michael Boampong; Kiki James

Published: May 2022   Journal: Social Inclusion
With a burgeoning out‐of‐school population and illiteracy rate, the situation of protracted conflict and crises fuelled by the Boko‐Haram insurgency further exacerbates educational inequality for children in northern Nigeria. The Covid‐19 pandemic further deepened the “educational poverty” experienced there. This article focuses on data generated around ACE radio school, an initiative to mitigate the impact of Covid‐19‐related school closures in northern Nigeria. The initiative targeted young learners using radio as a medium to support their continued learning remotely in numeracy, literacy, sciences, and civics education. Daily learning activities were broadcasted in the local Hausa language, supported through “listening groups” that engaged local learning facilitators in the communities. Despite the known existing barriers that have been identified to hinder access to quality education in the region, including poverty, religion, socio‐cultural factors, and protracted conflict situations, our interviews revealed that parents were committed to supporting their children’s attendance at listening groups, due to the use of their mother tongue as a mode of instruction.
Inclusive and resilient societies: equality, sustainability and efficiency
Institution: UNESCO, Fundacion La Caixa
Published: May 2022

This first UNESCO Policy Report on Inclusive and Resilient Societies, released as the world enters the third year of the pandemic, analyses the causes, nature and evolution of inequalities during the COVID-19 crisis. High-level analysis and findings are detailed in this summary, with detail provided in the report.

Unplanned pregnancy among secondary students during the Covid 19 pandemic: a phenomenological study

AUTHOR(S)
Carmel Vip C. Derasin; Lloyd Vincent C. Derasin; Carren Joy G. De Pedro (et al.)

Published: April 2022   Journal: International Journal of Science and Management Studies
The study focused on Teenage Pregnancy among Secondary Students during the Covid 19- Pandemic. The study made use of hermeneutic phenomenological research design in exploring the Lived experiences of teen mothers. The informants of the study are the five teen mothers. The informants were selected using a purposive sampling procedure. in addition, the study was conducted in different parts of Cebu Province and the Colaizzi method was used by the researchers to analyze the data. The study yielded seven themes which include; (1) engaging in sexual intercourse for fun, (2) unplanned pregnancy, (3) Financial Difficulties, (4) Postponing education, (5) Ridicule from the Neighbors, (6) Physical and Emotional Abuse and (7). Joy and Happiness. Moreover, the study revealed that Teenagers who become pregnant face numerous hurdles and hardships in their lives which were intensified by the current pandemic yet despite these obstacles, they are happy and fulfilled as mothers, and they are optimistic and determined to overcome these obstacles for the sake of their child's future.
Effects of early-life poverty on health and human capital in children and adolescents: analyses of national surveys and birth cohort studies in LMICs
Published: April 2022   Journal: The Lancet
The survival and nutrition of children and, to a lesser extent, adolescents have improved substantially in the past two decades. Improvements have been linked to the delivery of effective biomedical, behavioural, and environmental interventions; however, large disparities exist between and within countries. Using data from 95 national surveys in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), this study analyses how strongly the health, nutrition, and cognitive development of children and adolescents are related to early-life poverty. Additionally, using data from six large, long-running birth cohorts in LMICs, it shows how early-life poverty can have a lasting effect on health and human capital throughout the life course. The study emphasises the importance of implementing multisectoral anti-poverty policies and programmes to complement specific health and nutrition interventions delivered at an individual level, particularly at a time when COVID-19 continues to disrupt economic, health, and educational gains achieved in the recent past.
After-school programmes response to the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned from Barcelona, Spain

AUTHOR(S)
Txus Morata; Paco López; Eva Palasí (et al.)

Published: April 2022   Journal: Child & Family Social Work
This article explores the role of after-school programmes (ASPs) in serving underserved families in Barcelona, Spain, during the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a mixed-method approach, this exploratory study surveyed 31 directors of ASPs administered by the Pere Tarrés Foundation. These ASPs serve almost 2000 children living under the federal poverty level in Catalonia, Spain.
Inequalities in the distribution of COVID-19 related financial difficulties for Australian families with young children

AUTHOR(S)
Meredith O'Connor; Christopher J. Greenwood; Primrose Letcher (et al.)

Published: April 2022   Journal: Child

This study examined (1) the frequency of financial difficulties in Australian families with young children (0–8 years) in the early and later phases of the pandemic; (2) the extent to which parents' pre-pandemic socio-economic disadvantage (SED) predicted financial difficulties; and (3) whether grandparent intergenerational SED further amplified this risk. Australian Temperament Project (ATP; established 1983, N = 2443) and ATP Generation 3 study (ATPG3; established 2012; N = 702), of which 74% (N = 553) completed a COVID-specific module in the early (May–September 2020) and/or later (October–December 2021) phases of the pandemic. Outcomes: Parent-reported loss of employment/reduced income, difficulty paying for essentials, and financial strain. Exposures: Pre-pandemic parent and grandparent education and occupation. Analysis: Logistic regressions, estimated via generalized estimating equations, were used to examine associations between the pre-pandemic SED of parents and grandparents and their interaction with financial difficulties, adjusting for potential confounders.

Poverty and food insecurity during COVID-19: phone-survey evidence from rural and urban Myanmar in 2020

AUTHOR(S)
Derek Headey; Sophie Goudet; Isabel Lambrecht (et al.)

Published: April 2022   Journal: Global Food Security
Myanmar first experienced the COVID-19 crisis as a relatively brief economic shock in early 2020, before the economy was later engulfed by a prolonged surge in COVID-19 cases from September 2020 onwards. To analyze poverty and food security in Myanmar during 2020 we surveyed over 2000 households per month from June–December in urban Yangon and the rural dry zone. By June, households had suffered dramatic increases in poverty, but even steeper increases accompanied the rise in COVID-19 cases from September onwards. Increases in poverty were much larger in urban areas, although poverty was always more prevalent in the rural sample. However, urban households were twice as likely to report food insecurity experiences, suggesting rural populations felt less food insecure throughout the crisis.
The impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of households with children: an overview based on High Frequency Phone Surveys
Institution: *UNICEF, The World Bank
Published: March 2022

The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have been widespread and disproportionately affected vulnerable segments of the population, including children and their families. The modest progress made in reducing child poverty has been reversed in all parts of the world by COVID-19. Impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of households with children – a joint World Bank and UNICEF publication - presents findings from data from high frequency phone surveys collected in 35 countries. The analysis identifies the impact of the crisis on households without and with (few or many) children, both focusing on the initial impact in 2020 but also the subsequent evolution of this impact. The analysis focus on key areas such as income and job loss, food insecurity, social protection programs and access to education, shedding light on the importance of placing children in poverty and their families highly on the agenda in the COVID-19 response and recovery.

Child care and participation in the Global South: an anthropological study from squatter houses in Buenos Aires

AUTHOR(S)
Pía Leavy; Paula Nurit Shabel

Published: January 2022   Journal: Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal
Children and teenagers are often considered as objects of care or as subjects who have the right to be cared for. However, in squatter houses in Buenos Aires, they often take on responsibilities that challenge the ways we understand childcare and participation. This article sets out to analyse the experiences of girls and young women. To do so, it carried out ethnographic work with girls aged 8–19 years within two occupied buildings in a Buenos Aires neighbourhood before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, studying its consequent measures of isolation and social distancing. Firstly, it describes how health measures applied to contain the pandemic reinforced certain stereotypes about children and their care. Secondly, it analyzes the participation of these children in production and reproduction activities inside and outside their homes. This analysis includes the ways in which they deployed strategies for their own care, based on their activism in a political organisation. The analysed material shows tensions between care and participation that occur in the daily practices of young women who inhabit these spaces, which are crossed by moral and legal duties as well as by material needs and violence.
The most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2021
Institution: CARE
Published: January 2022

In collaboration with the media monitoring service Meltwater, CARE analysed the humanitarian crises that received the least media attention in 2021. More than 1.8 million online articles were analysed between 1st January and 30th September 2021. To do this, we identified the countries where at least one million people were affected by conflict or climate-related disasters. The total number of people affected by each crisis is derived from data from ACAPS, Reliefweb and CARE. The result – a list of 40 crises – was subjected to media analysis and ranked by the number of online articles published on the topic. This report summarises the ten crises that received the least attention.

16 - 30 of 104

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.