Coronavirus: UNICEF says 700,000 Gambian Children temporally out of School for six months
Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - As the world commemorates World Children’s Day, UNICEF Gambia office has revealed that 700,000 children in the West African nation were temporally out of school for six months due to the global pandemic.
Gordon Jonathan Lewis, UNICEF representative in the Gambia, made this revelation on Friday at a day-long dialogue with students at Kotu Senior Secondary School, 25km outside Banjul, on World Children’s day.
“World’s children day is UNICEF’s annual day action for children and this year, the coronavirus crisis has resulted in a child rights crisis; the costs of pandemic for children are immediate and if unaddressed may last a lifetime,” he said.
He also said the COVID-19 pandemic has a tremendous negative impact on the livelihood and economic wellbeing of the children and their families.
According to him, children also spoke about the fact that their education was seriously impacted, as they spend much of their times doing home chores.
Lewis further said, the prolonged shot down of schools has had a very negative impact on the children’s capability to continue their learning practice, saying that some of the children were sad about the fact that they believe the lockdown had an impact on the result they obtained from their recent examination.
“As we celebrate world children’s day, children should be given space because they have opinions, voices and they have suggestions of how their homes and country can be a better place for them, therefore children’s best interest should be considered in anything decision, he said.
-0- PANA MSS/VAO 20Nov2020
