Child Rights International (CRI) has called for an intensified campaign by the state to make children understand the importance of adherence to protocols for the prevention of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
According to the non-profit organization, the government needs to institute programmes to boost the immune system of children such as proper nutrition system to ensure children have a balanced diet, good personal/environmental hygiene practices, and physical activity as much as possible.
The call is contained in a research report prepared by CRI titled, ‘COVID-19: State of children in Ghana’ which studied how the infection is taking its toll on Ghanaian children.
CRI attempted to unravel the behavior pattern of the virus in children and the socio-economic state of children and proposed alternate systems of protection for providing care for children.
According to Child Rights, COVID-19 has established a certain trajectory in Ghana that provides incidence of the disease among children between the ages 0-14 and 15-17.
The report indicated that majority of children who have contracted COVID-19 fall within the age cohort of 0-14 compared to those in the ages 15-17, with more girls infected compared to boys within each age bracket. The mortality is, however, higher in boys compared to that of girls.
Nationwide data shows that from March 11 to November 9, 2020, out of 49,202 who contracted the COVID-19 virus, 2,180 are children below 18 years representing 4.43% of the total contraction rate in Ghana.
Out of the 2,180 children who have contracted COVID-19, four have died within the age cohort of 0-14 years but no mortality has been recorded in children between the age cohort of 15-17.
According to CRI, there must therefore be a comprehensive nutritional plan under the school feeding programme in schools and the provision of regular information on nutritional values to the general public in order to maintain a strong immune system against COVID-19 in children.
The organization also observed the absence of parents at home to care for their children has potential effects on children.
“Activities that children engage in at home will go unsupervised. The resulting consequences are stress, boredom, overeating and engagement with peers for longer hours. In urban areas, children have unlimited and unregulated access to online platforms which have the potential to incur online bullying, abuse and sexual exploitation without the knowledge of their parents or guardians due to their absence,” the report said.
CRI noted that all countries that recorded the disease have taken certain measures depending on the severity of the impact to reduce the cases in children including the shift system in schools and distance learning among others.
It stressed that in returning Ghanaian society and children back to any semblance of normalcy, these alternate systems must be considered and specific solutions crafted to resolve the outstanding challenges discovered during the onslaught of the pandemic.
It indicated that by resolving these, Ghana can truly find lasting solutions that will improve current systems for the future.
Source Mypublisher24.com
