The United Nations issued a report last week highlighting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the children of the world. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement about the report:

“Thankfully, children have so far been largely spared from the most severe symptoms of the disease. But their lives are being totally upended."

The report indicates that the COVID quarantines around the world will cause a catastrophic socio-economic impact on the children of the world. The report also infers that dramatic impact is something that the COVID-19 virus will not have.

Inside the report, the UN points to the lock downs on education, food access, children's health care, and child abuse.

With education, the report says that with nearly 190 countries experiencing some form of lock down on education, practically all students on the planet are out of school. The report highlights that some schools are using distance learning to keep kids involved, but those with slow and expensive internet service, or no computer access, will be left out.

When it comes to food access, many children only see meals through their schools. Over 300 million children worldwide rely on school meals for their daily nutrition. This is listed as a vital concern in the report.

The UN report also states that "hastily implemented lock downs" have caused a risk to disrupting food supply chains. This is highlighted as a "grave threat" to food access.

Through the lock downs around the globe, many families have seen their household incomes wiped away, or severely impacted, by economic shutdowns. Due to this, many families have been forced to end, or reduce, their essential health expenditures. With employment ending for many individuals, that means their health insurance has also ended, which is causing healthcare issues for families who have never worried about this kind of problem before.

Globally, children are now going without important medications and vaccines. Some of these vaccines could be difficult to catch up on as children grow older.

The report also points to a likely rise in domestic abuse as the economic crisis rises due to lock downs. Adding in the fact that many victims are now trapped inside their home with an abuser. This leads to not only child abuse, but that children are now witnessing abuses they may not have seen inside their home.

Ultimately, the UN put the focus on governments across the globe. Urging them to counter these effects on children. They are advocating for more social assistance and support to food supply chains from all government bodies.

The stronger, and or longer, these quarantine restrictions are, the more risk the children of the world are being put into.

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