CHILDREN and COVID-19 advocacy briefs
The Children’s Institute (CI) has developed a series of advocacy briefs calling for government to put children at the heart of South Africa’s COVIDâ19 response and recovery plans. The briefs document the impact of the pandemic on children and children’s services, and identify opportunities to strengthen systems, improve outcomes and better support children in future waves and crises.
According to series editor, Lori Lake, children are particularly vulnerable to both the immediate shock and enduring impacts of COVIDâ19: “This is especially the case during sensitive and rapid periods of development such as the first 1 000 days of life [from conception to a child’s second birthday] and adolescence when exposure to hunger, violence and adversity gives rise to toxic stress, which can cause long-term and irreparable harm to children’s immune systems, their developing brains and education and employment prospects”.