As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the lives of children, UNICEF has issued an emergency funding appeal for US$6.4 billion to reach 300 million people.
This appeal is a 35 percent increase over funds requested for 2020, and a reflection of expanding humanitarian needs globally.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, routine immunisation services for children have been disrupted in more than 60 countries, while nearly a quarter of a billion students worldwide are still affected by Covid-19 school closures.
In Africa and other parts of the world, economic instability is disrupting essential services and making it harder for families to survive, increasing the risk of domestic and gender-based violence.
In Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, more than 425,000 people, including 191,000 children, have been displaced. Reports of killings, abductions, recruitment, and use of children as soldiers are on the rise.
Also, the number of climate-related disasters has tripled in the last 30 years, threatening food security, increasing water scarcity, forcing people from their homes, and increasing the risk of conflict and public health emergencies.
It is also understood that the pandemic has worsened protracted emergencies in countries like Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, and South Sudan.
‘When a devastating pandemic coincides with conflict, climate change, disaster and displacement, the consequences for children can be catastrophic’, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement.
‘Today we are facing a child rights emergency in which Covid-19 and other crises are combining to deprive children of their health and well-being.
‘This unprecedented situation demands a similarly unprecedented response. We are urging our donors to join us so that together we can help the world’s children get through this darkest of times and prevent a lost generation’.
As part of its response to Covid-19, UNICEF said it was putting its massive supply and procurement operation behind rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine, with a focus on equity to reach the most vulnerable children and families.
‘This work includes coordinating with major global airlines and freight providers to step up efforts to deliver vaccines to more than 92 countries around the world as soon as vaccines become available.
‘The agency is also co-leading efforts to help governments’ readiness to deploy the vaccines – including by prepositioning syringes, mapping out cold chain equipment, and tackling misinformation’.
Source: UNICEF
Photo source: UNICEF Česká republika
