Covid-19 Worsening Global Childcare Crisis: UNICEF Chief

Henrietta Fore, head of the UN Children's Fund ( UNICEF), has warned that "the pandemic is causing the global childcare crisis much greater."

Her remark came after the publication of a UN report that reveals that at least 40 million children have delayed early childhood education as a consequence of efforts to counter COVID-19. The research was released on Wednesday, says UN news.

The research brief looks at the current condition of childcare and early childhood education, which provides an examination of the major damage created by the systematic closing of these important family facilities owing to the pandemic.  

Women and the poor bear the brunt.

The shutdown have also left many parents struggling to balance childcare and paid employment, a situation that places a greater burden on women who, on average, spend more than three times longer on care and homework than men.

In poorer countries, cuts have rendered it much more challenging for many families of small children, for whom schools are a vital source of a broad variety of resources, including education, relaxation and the growth of physical , emotional and cognitive skills.

40 percent of young, lacking any support

The research indicates that in 54 low-and middle-income nations, about 40 % of children between the ages of three and five did not obtain social-emotional and cognitive support from any person in their household.

The only option for millions of parents, particularly women working in the informal sector, who have no form of social protection available to them, is to bring their young children to work: more than 90 percent of women in Africa, and almost 70 percent in Asia and the Pacific, work in this sector.

Access to quality childcare for all

UNICEF is calling for all children to have access to accessible and reliable childcare, from conception to the first grade in kindergarten. The Agency 's study offers recommendations to policymakers and businesses on developing parenting and early childhood education policies.

Recommendations include offering high-quality and accessible nursery facilities; paid maternity leave for all parents; inclusive employment conditions that meet the demands of working parents; and social security schemes, including cash grants to households employed in the informal sector.

“Education disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is preventing children from getting their education off to the best possible start,” said Fore. “Childcare and early childhood education build a foundation upon which every aspect of children’s development relies. The pandemic is putting that foundation under serious threat.”