In the report “Averting a Lost Covid Generation”, the United Nations Children’s Fund documents the serious consequences of the spreading pandemic for children worldwide. While the health symptoms in children have so far been mild, the number of infections continues to rise. The long-term effects on education, nutrition and well-being of an entire generation of children and young people can have a lasting impact on their entire lives.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, the idea persists that children are hardly affected by the disease. Nothing could be less true, ”declared UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. «Children can get sick and spread the virus. But that’s only the tip of the pandemic iceberg. The interruption of essential aids and services as well as rising poverty rates are the greatest threats to children. The longer the crisis lasts, the more serious its effects on education, health, nutrition and well-being of children. The future of an entire generation is in danger. “
The analysis of data from 87 countries for which the corresponding information is available shows that at the beginning of November eleven percent of the 25.7 million Covid 19 infections at the time were among children and adolescents under the age of 20. This means that every ninth Covid-19 infection affects a child or adolescent. More meaningful data on infections, deaths and tests, differentiated by age, are necessary in order to better understand the consequences for particularly vulnerable children and to plan measures.
While children can transmit the virus among themselves and to older age groups, there is strong evidence that if basic safety measures are followed, the benefits of keeping schools open outweigh the costs of school closings, according to the UNICEF report. Schools are not the main drivers of the virus spread in communities. The probability that children will be infected is higher outside of school contexts.
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