Responding to COVID-19

Highlights

In 2020, COVID-19 exposed deep inequalities that have existed for too long, with the worst impact on children in the poorest countries and communities and those already disadvantaged by discrimination, social exclusion, fragility and conflict. 

Responding to COVID-19: UNICEF’s 2020 key achievements highlights how COVID-19 affected children and how UNICEF responded in 2020 across health and nutrition, education, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, social protection, humanitarian response, and gender. This brief, accessible brochure accompanies the more comprehensive UNICEF 2020 Annual Report, which will be released on June 3.

Here are a few of UNICEF’s accomplishments in 2020:

• Providing leadership in the COVAX Facility, leading to the financing of COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low- and middle-income countries, and preparing countries to deliver the vaccine
• Distributing critical water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and supplies for 106 million people, including 58 million children
• Reaching 3 billon people, including approximately 1.53 billion women and girls and 810 million children with risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) information and activities
• Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) for nearly 2.6 million health workers
• Facilitating training on infection prevention and control for 4 million health workers
• Facilitating training on delivering essential services for more than 30,000 social workers
• Supporting community-based mental health and psychosocial interventions in COVID-19 response plans, reaching 78 million children, adolescents, parents and caregivers in 117 countries
• Facilitating treatment and care for nearly 5 million children with severe wasting in more than 70 countries
• Supporting more than 301 million children, including approximately 147 million girls, with remote learning
• Responding to 455 new and ongoing humanitarian situations in 152 countries beyond COVID-19

Author(s)

UNICEF

Publication date

May 2021

Languages

English, French, Spanish, Arabic