Silent victims of COVID-19: Children

Natural disasters can be especially harmful for children. But every parent heaved a sigh of relief when research found that the coronavirus doesnt put children at much risk. Regardless, these times can have long-lasting consequences for kids.

Amid the Ebola outbreak in 2014, vaccination rates declined rapidly. And the same can be expected this time around, as parents avoid visiting hospitals. Even though mass-vaccination programs were suspended worldwide in March to maintain social distance, experts acknowledge that this will lead to an increase in diseases, which will have an impact for years to come.

In many parts of rural India, millions of children are battling the virus without any online school that they can attend, which means their education in the future is uncertain. Studies show that a lengthly leave of absence from school can be educationally detrimental, and it especially affects children from low-income strata. Many parents cannot work from home, and so domestic responsibilities for children increases.

Handling the after-effects on children will be a massive challenge to undertake. To launch a vaccination program worldwide would not be cheap or easy. Regardless, WHO still remains as the appropriate organisation that can plan and fund such a project. Governments should also look out for carefully reopening schools and prioritising maternal care services.

Schools also need to take it up upon themselves to take care of teachers during the crisis so that schools can be reopened as quickly as possible and also create an accelerated curriculum so that students can catch up.