As families lose their sources of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the global economy plunges into a recession, more households are bound for monetary poverty, with dire consequences for the poorest without access to social protection.
A UNICEF data on March 2020 shows that although children and adolescents are not the faces of this pandemic, they are at risk of being among its biggest victims, as children’s lives are nonetheless being changed in profound ways.
Young people globally are now being negatively affected by the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic and, in some cases, by the mitigation measures that may inadvertently do them more harm than good.
Although this is a universal crisis, for some children and young people, the impact will be lifelong, because the harmful effects will not be distributed equally, as it is expected to be most damaging for children in the poorest neighbourhoods in countries where they are already living under disadvantaged or vulnerable situations.
“I am sad because I may not be able to go back to school now or ever,” says Adwoa Foriwaa (not her real name), a 17-year-old form two student of a Senior High School whose destiny and dreams have been shattered after losing both parents to COVID-19. She sobs quietly with her head bowed as she narrates how she received the devastating news from her maternal uncle who brought her home from school.
“My pain is unbearable, but my uncle tells me it will soon go away, and I will be fine, but I don’t think so, and I am very confused and afraid for myself and my two other siblings about this dangerous disease now that Papa and Mama are gone. I cry every day because I can’t focus on my studies, and my friends also shun away from me because my parents died of COVID-19,” she said in an interview with the reporter for ‘Mobilising Media Fighting COVID-19’ project by the Journalists for Human Right.
Foriwaa now lives with her uncle while her other two siblings have been shared among other family members, which she says is causing her much devastation and stress.
In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has potentially caused an escalation in mental health conditions of young people, partly due to the disease experience, social distancing, stigma, discrimination and job losses in Ghana.
For instance, studies by the Ghana Health Service has shown that health care workers, patients with COVID-19, children, women, youth, and the elderly are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, increased depression, distress, insomnia, suicidal tendencies and a high rate of substance use disorders.
Yet, these warnings have been quietly brushed aside without giving them much attention, or ensuring that affected persons have unimpeded access to physical and psychological counselling services, but everyone is pretending that all is well, while some children are still confused and traumatised after losing their loved ones to COVID-19 and need urgent help.