Without school you can't eat. At least 370 million children in the world - even in the richest countries, as they are afflicted by serious social inequalities - are at risk of hunger and malnutrition. There are other troubles, a cascade, whose overall impact can paradoxically be even more serious for the lives of children and young people. The alarms and initiatives of UNICEF, WFP (World Food Program), UNESCO and World Bank.
Covid-19, no food without school
Food at school it is the only nutritious meal of the day for many children. For poor families, according to WFP, the value of 1 meal at school equals 10% of the family's monthly income. (1) School closures imposed by the pandemic - what time it affects about 1,5 billion students in the world - will starve at least 370 million children and young people of school age. (2)
'This pandemic it 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 the lessons online, but you cannot feed yourself online' (Carmen Burbano, WFP Director for School Feeding Programs).
The Covid-19 emergency therefore it risks dragging others with it. First of all, malnutrition, which the EAT Commission of was already pre-Covid The Lancet had indicated as one of the causes of Global Syndemic, along with obesity and global warming.
School and health
'School is much more what a place of learning. For many children, it is a vital tool for safety, health services and nutrition. Unless action is taken now - by increasing life-saving services for the most vulnerable children - the devastating fallout from Covid-19 will be felt for decades. ' (Henrietta Fore, UNICEF, executive director).
Other serious problems linked to the closure of school complexes concern epidemic diseases subject to compulsory vaccination and health care, which in many countries pass through schools. Poor polio vaccination coverage is already the cause of premature mortality and disability in many low-middle-income countries (LMIC, Low-Middle Income Countries), which can and must be prevented.
Add to this social exclusion, 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 troubled parents to send their daughters to school, thus avoiding them heavy housework or early marriages'.
Guidelines for the reopening of schools
UNICEF and WFP are collaborating to track children in need of school meals through an online school meal map (3,4). And under the Global Education Coalition led by UNESCO, have launched an appeal to raise US $ 600 million to be allocated to specific interventions in 30 low-income countries.
The three UN agencies, together with the World Bank, published in April specific guidelines for the safe reopening of schools, with a series of practical indications on how to protect children until the emergency of the new coronavirus is over. The shared concern concerns the risks associated with school closures in terms of education, well-being, health, safety, nutrition, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized children (5).
'Inequalities on the rise, the consequences on health, 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 don't prioritize reopening schools, when it is safe to do so, we will likely see a devastating turnaround in advances in education. ' (Henrietta Fore, UNICEF, executive director).
The most urgent needs
The European Commission guidelines suggest that Member States follow a coordinated approach for opening and closing schools during a health emergency. The most urgent needs concern the financing of the indispensable measures for the opening of schools in safe conditions. And so, (in primis):
- 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 to 'focus on practices that make up for lost educational time, strengthen pedagogy and are based on hybrid learning models, such as integrating approaches into distance and remote education. This must include knowledge of transmission and disease prevention. '
Social priorities
Priority attention it should be dedicated to the health and well-being of students - and therefore, health care and school nutrition - with the aim of reaching the most marginalized students. That is to say children and students who previously did not go to school, minorities. Small and young migrants, displaced persons, and those with disabilities who - as seen - also in Italy they continue to suffer shameful discrimination.
'Once schools will begin to reopen, the priority will become to reintegrate students into school environments in a safe way and in ways that allow them to recover learning, especially for those who have suffered the greatest losses in this sense.
This is a crucial moment as it is the springboard for a new normal is it should be more effective and fair. To manage 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 of education).
Insights on social emergencies in the coronavirus era in Volume III - Planet of the trilogy COVID-19, abc, published by Égalité onlus.
Sabrina Bergamini and Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) WFP. World Food Program. WFP prepares to support children left without meals due to school closures due to COVID-19. 23.3.20,
(2) WFP. Covid-19, without rapid interventions will double the number of people in a state of 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.
