Image from Unicef Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — International organization UNICEF has urged the Philippine government to ensure that the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic would be child-friendly.
UNICEF said that measures in response to the pandemic “should always be in the best interest of the child; should do no further harm; and always consider the preservation of the child’s welfare and dignity.”
“In times of emergency, children are already confused and distressed from the fear and anxiety brought by the uncertainty of the spread of disease,” Patrizia Benvenuti, Chief of Child Protection of UNICEF Philippines, said in a statement.
“We, at UNICEF, want to ensure that there is a protective and caring environment for children at all times. We encourage the government to apply child-friendly protocols in the implementation of community quarantine and ensure that all measures taken to protect children respond to their best interest,” she added.
UNICEF also reiterated its support towards Philippine government in combatting the disease through support for logistics, information dissemination through communication materials, and protection of rights of children and families.
The group also urged the government to adopt the following initiatives:
- Train health, education and child services staff on COVID-19-related child protection risks, including the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and how to safely report concerns;
- Ensure that children will not be arrested for instances of disobedience of the enhanced community quarantine measures and curfew and that the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act is respected;
- Support parents and caregivers in reassuring children by using child-friendly information to explain the situation and address their fears and feelings during this stressful time;
- Train first responders to manage disclosure of gender-based violence and work with healthcare services to support GBV survivors;
- Increase information sharing on referral and other support services available for children;
Engage children, particularly adolescents, in assessing how COVID-19 affects them to inform programming and advocacy; - Put in place concrete measures to prevent child-family separation, and ensure support for children left alone without adequate care due to the hospitalization or death of a parent or caregiver;
- Ensure the protection of all children is given the utmost consideration in disease control measures.
- The Department of Health (DOH) said that confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines has soared to 501 as of Tuesday morning.
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.
The virus causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but can cause serious illness such as pneumonia for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
Coronavirus is a family of viruses, which surfaces have a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces.