Reintegration of children is challenging and resource-intensive in the best of times – at present, these sudden placements are significantly adding to the already high stressors on families, compounding the public health issues noted above and placing the children at risk.ĬOVID-19 is projected to hit low resource countries hard. COVID-19 mortality will affect adults and those of older ages disproportionately. Foreign donors to institutions being hit by the economic crisis are also, in some cases, reported to be withdrawing funding from institutions and shutting them down. In other cases, administrators of institutions assume that foreign donations will dry up and are choosing to send children away and close their facility. Kenya has issued a Government order directing these closures, which have also been anecdotally reported in Bangladesh, Russia, Rwanda, Uganda, Ukraine, and in some countries of Latin America. There are increasing reports of institutions, many large, being summarily shut down in response to COVID-19, with many children and families completely unprepared or supported for the placement. Long term residential care settings present particular COVID-19 risks to residents and require specific mitigation measures. Children with disabilities – whether in an institution or not – are facing a broad range of challenges with COVID-19 public health measures (social distancing, closure of caregiving agencies, maintenance of therapeutic regimes, psychosocial stresses). Some long-term residential institutions are closing and sending children to households without proper support and preparation being provided to the families. There are already known cases of many children ending up on the streets as families are unprepared or worse, unwelcoming. Finally, residential quarantine centers are being set up in some countries, presenting acute risks to children reminiscent of the Ebola crisis. Recent research suggests between 5 and 6 million children live in institutions, though this is a likely underestimate. A large percentage of these children are with disabilities, many immunocompromised and making them especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Child helplines are unable to dispatch support to those who call, though some are doing their best to provide virtual psychosocial support. Children are highly vulnerable and have very little recourse to support, whether formal or informally provided. Families are facing significant socio-economic stresses and children are no longer permitted in school and confined at home. Violence against children is recognized by experts as a public health issue. There are widespread reports of an increase in abuse of children (and women and other vulnerable adults in the home) as a result of COVID-19 social isolation measures. COVID-19: impacts on child protection sector
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