BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Nov. 20 is World Children's Day. The still-raging new crown epidemic has hit the lives, education and psychology of children in many countries. How to let children grow up healthy and happy is a test for governments, schools and parents of students. Some countries and regions are rallying their efforts to find ways to reduce the negative impact of the epidemic on children.
The American Academy of Pediatrics 宣明會助養兒童recently reported that as of November 12, more than one million children in the United States have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus. Sally Goza, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the outbreak has changed the lives of children, and the long-term damage caused by the new coronavirus is a concern.
The children's playground at Domino Park in New York City is empty on Nov. 12. (Xinhua, photo by Guo Ke)
Many schools in Afghanistan have been forced宣明會助養兒童 to close as a result of the outbreak. International charity Save the Children said the epidemic has had a huge impact on public services, health care and the economy of Afghanistan, where 8.12 million children are in urgent need of assistance to survive until 2020. The epidemic has also caused local prices of food, cooking oil and sugar to rise, making it increasingly difficult for ordinary families to feed themselves.
The new epidemic has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. UNICEF Iraq recently issued a communiqué saying that poor children in Iraq are facing problems such as school failure, malnutrition and violence, and that nearly half of 宣明會助養兒童Iraqi children are at high risk in terms of health, living conditions and access to education due to the epidemic.
Iraqi children play on a swing set wearing masks in Baghdad, Iraq, May 27. Xinhua News Agency
Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Census recently released data showing that 52.3 percent of children in the country were living in poverty at the end of 2019. The epidemic has made the survival situation of Argentine children even more critical. UNICEF noted that the percentage of children living in poverty in Argentina rose to 58.6 percent in May this year, and the figure could rise to 63 percent by the end of this year.
Save the Children said in May that a multi-country survey showed that chronic depression, social isolation and lack of outdoor activities will have a serious impact on children's mental health under the epidemic.
Milan Dalal, executive director of Nepal's National Child Rights Committee, said that because of the epidemic, many Nepalese children are unable to move freely or attend school, and parents are unable to care for their children as attentively as before because of unemployment or declining economic income-generating capacity. The President of the Nepal Child Guardians Alliance, Bandari, pointed out that the greatest impact of the epidemic on children is in education, with less than 30% of students currently in a position to study at a distance during the epidemic.
Faced with various practical difficulties, some countries and regions have actively introduced heart-warming measures to help children overcome the epidemic in various aspects.
On the occasion of this year's World Children's Day, the Kuwaiti National Society for Child Protection launched a social networking campaign calling on society as a whole to listen to the needs of children and make them love reading and learning. To improve parents' ability to help their children learn in the midst of the epidemic, the National Child Protection Society of Kuwait invited experts in the field to hold several lectures and forums offline and online for parents to learn how to help their children access online classes efficiently.
Nepal's Ministry of Education press spokesman Deepak Sharma said that considering that most students do not have computers and access to the Internet at home, the government is distributing free cell phone cards to students on a large scale for them to use mobile data to access the Internet for online learning.
A child undergoes a nucleic acid test at a testing site in the West Bank city of Hebron on June 22. By Xinhua (Photo by Mamun Wozwarz)
To ensure that poor children in the epidemic are fed and nourished, Palestinian government authorities in the Gaza Strip, with the assistance of UN agencies and other partners, are providing food to children and their families living in refugee camps. The local education department also recorded instructional videos for children and worked with UN agencies to reduce the psychological impact of the epidemic on children by opening learning centers and psychological counseling centers for children while ensuring safety from the epidemic.
Schools in Myanmar are also unable to open normally due to the epidemic. Gore Win, director of the Myanmar Ministry of Education's basic education bureau, said they plan to broadcast lessons through TV and radio so that more children can stick to their studies by watching TV and listening to the radio.
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