A survey by Save the Children in Bangladesh shows that 64 per cent of children from marginalised groups and their families are currently facing serious food crisis amid the coronavirus shutdown.
Data collected over the phone from 121 children aged 10-18 in urban slums, tea gardens and disadvantaged rural areas shows that the food security in the families has reached a critical stage as earning members continue to lose income opportunities, Save the Children in Bangladesh said in a statement on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
The survey aims to unravel the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the most marginalised children of Bangladesh and strengthen GO-NGO strategies and actions to minimise the adverse impact.
The survey also revealed that most of these children have not received any help from the government or any private organisation.
“From this data, one may apprehend that the number of initiatives announced by the government in recent times, including the distribution of food, has not reached to the majority and the private initiatives are also inadequate,” Save the Children said.
Abdulla Al-Mamun, director of child protection and child rights governance at Save the Children, said: “This crisis has far reaching implications for children’s physical and psychosocial wellbeing. We have tried to reach the most marginalised children to get their perceptions, opinions on this crisis. We hope this will bring our duty bearers and policy makers’ attention to the issue for prompt and effective steps to minimise the adverse impact on children.”
The answers of 20 child-friendly questions from the survey further revealed that 90 per cent of the children had not been followed up from school, 91 per cent have no one to help them with their studies at home and 23 per cent are not studying at home at all.
Among the children who usually face humiliating punishment at home, 21 per cent mentioned increase in such punishments during the COVID-19 situation. On the other hand, this percentage is as high as 47 per cent when it comes to physical punishment.
Save the Children is globally launching a call for action on protecting a generation from COVID19 that includes a coordinated community, national and global action to avert the catastrophe. In light of that, the survey lays out five recommendations based on children’s voices from the most marginalised population.
“Collaborative efforts require to minimise risks of spread of the pandemic, provide livelihood support for the families in need, help children with education through follow up with schools and colleges, ensure protection of children from violence and provide psycho-social support to children to cope with the crisis,” Save the Children said.
“It’s imperative that a child rights focused national response strategy is in place to fight this pandemic.”