Without school you can’t eat. At least 370 million children worldwide-even in the richest countries, as they are plagued by severe social inequalities-are at risk of hunger and malnutrition. Other woes are added, cascading down, the overall impact of which can be paradoxically even more serious for the lives of children and young people. The alerts and initiatives of UNICEF, WFP(World Food Programme), UNESCO and World Bank.
Covid-19, no food without school
Food at school represents for many children the only nutritious meal of the day. For poor families, according to WFP, the value of 1 meal at school is equivalent to 10 percent of the family’s monthly income. (1) The school closures imposed by the pandemic-which now affects about 1.5 billion students worldwide-will force at least 370 million school-age children and youth into hunger. (2)
‘This pandemic is having a devastating impact on schoolchildren around the world, especially in developing countries. For children from vulnerable families, whose only real meal is what they get at school, what happens is disastrous. ‘You can take classes online, but you can’t feed yourself online‘ (Carmen Burbano, WFP Director for School Feeding Programs).
The Covid-19 emergency is therefore likely to drag others down with it. Malnutrition first and foremost, which even in the pre-Covid era The Lancet ‘s EAT Commission had pointed to as one of the causes of the
Global Syndemic
, along with obesity and global warming.
School and health
‘School is much more than a place of learning. For many children, it is a vital tool in terms of safety, health services and nutrition. Unless action is taken now-increasing life-saving services for the most vulnerable children-the devastating fallout caused by Covid-19 will be felt for decades’ (Henrietta Fore, UNICEF, executive director).
Other serious problems associated with school closures include epidemic diseases subject to mandatory vaccination and health care, which in many countries pass through schools. Poor polio vaccination coverage is already causing premature mortality and disability, in many Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs), which can and should be prevented.
Added to this are social marginalization, child exploitation and abuse, of girls and young women in particular. As the agencies explain, in many LMIC countries ‘the promise of a meal may be enough to get struggling parents to send their daughters to school, thus preventing them from heavy housework or early marriages.’
Guidelines for reopening schools
UNICEF and WFP are collaborating to track children in need of school meals through an online school meal map (3,4). And as part of the UNESCO-led Global Education Coalition, they have launched an appeal to raise US$ 600 million to target specific interventions in 30 low-income countries.
The three U.N. agencies, together with the World Bank, issued special guidelines in April for the safe reopening of schools, with a set of practical guidelines on how to protect children until the emergence of the new coronavirus is over. The shared concern is about the risks related to school closures in terms of education, welfare, health, safety, and nutrition, especially for the most fragile and marginalized children (5).
‘Rising inequality, health consequences, violence, child labor and early marriage are just some of the long-term threats to children who miss school. The longer children are out of school, the less likely they are to ever return. If we do not make it a priority to reopen schools, when it is safe to do so, we are likely to see a devastating reversal in progress in education’ (Henrietta Fore, UNICEF, executive director).
The most urgent needs
The guidelines suggest that member states follow a coordinated approach to opening and closing schools during a public health emergency. The most urgent needs pertain to the financing of measures essential to the safe opening of schools. And therefore, first and foremost:
– Access to soap and clean water,
– Protocols on interpersonal distances and good hygiene practices,
– Health care and procedures to be activated in case of symptoms.
As for teaching, it is suggested that ‘focus on practices that compensate for lost instructional time, strengthen pedagogy, and build on hybrid learning models, such as integrating approaches in distance and remote education. This must include knowledge of disease transmission and prevention’.
Social priorities
Priority attention should be given to student health and well-being-and thus, health care and school nutrition-with the goal of reaching the most marginalized students. Namely, children and students who were already previously out of school, minorities. Small and young migrants, displaced persons, and those with disabilities who-as we have seen-continue to suffer shameful discrimination even in Italy.
‘ Once schools begin to reopen, the priority will become reintegrating students back into school environments safely and in ways that allow them to regain learning, especially for those who have suffered the greatest losses in this regard.
This is a crucial moment as it is the springboard for a new normal that should be more effective and equitable. To handle reopenings, schools will need to be logistically prepared with teaching staff ready. And they will need to have specific plans to support the learning recovery of the most disadvantaged students’ (Jaime Saavedra, World Bank, global director for education).
Insights on social emergencies in the coronavirus era in Volume III – Planet of the COVID-19 trilogy , abc, published by Égalité onlus.
Sabrina Bergamini and Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) WFP. World Food Program. WFP is preparing to support children left without meals due to school closures caused by COVID-19. 23.3.20,
(2) WFP. Covid-19, without rapid intervention will double the number of people in food crisis. 21.4.20,
(3)
WFP and UNICEF joint response to COVID-19
,
https://www.wfp.org/school-health-and-nutrition
(4) WFP.
Global Monitoring of School Meals During COVID-19 School Closures.
,
(5) UNICEF, WFP, World Bank.
Framework for reopening schools
. April 2020,
https://www.unicef.org/media/68366/file/Framework-for-reopening-schools-2020.pdf
Journalist. Consumption, rights, nutrition, social, environment. Head of Consumers Help. She collaborated with ResetDOC, Il Riformista, La Nuova Ecologia, IMGPress.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
