Towards a child-focused COVID-19 response and recovery

A call to action

A girl shows her drawing
UNICEF/UN0379076/Bea

Highlights

More than a year into the pandemic, children and adolescents in Indonesia face a challenging ‘new normal’ - more than 80 million children have been affected by the widespread secondary impacts of the pandemic. The education of millions of children and adolescents has been disrupted; access to health, nutrition and protection services has been severely impacted; and families have struggled to stay afloat financially. As a result, existing inequalities have been exacerbated, particularly those related to gender, poverty and disability.

Drawing from different analysis of policy responses and research findings, this brief proposes actions towards a more child-focused COVID-19 response and recovery. In particular, the brief reveals the pandemic’s impact in six areas: (1) poverty; (2) learning; (3) health; (4) mental health, childcare and child protection; (5) nutrition; and (6) access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services. Further to this, it elaborates on policy actions taken during the pandemic and recommended for child-sensitive actions to address and mitigate impacts.

This policy brief aims to encourage and inform the public and all stakeholders involved in children’s wellbeing and development on policy recommendations.

Author(s)
UNICEF
Publication date
Languages
English, Indonesian