VTC Briefing on the Impact of COVID-19 on the Security and Welfare of Children in Africa
Amani Africa
Date | 11 May, 2020
Tomorrow (12 May) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will hold a briefing session on the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on the security and welfare of children in Africa.
Benyam Dawit Mezmur, Special Rapporteur on Children Affected by Armed Conflicts (CAAC) of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) is expected to brief the Council. Representatives from the Department of Social Affairs and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) are also expected to brief the PSC.
The format of the meeting on this topic has usually been an open session. However due to the new working arrangements of the PSC, tomorrow’s meeting will be a closed session that will be conducted via VTC.
In the context of the mandate of the PSC and indeed the ordinary focus of this annual thematic session, a question that arises in respect to tomorrow’s session is whether the discussion will be confined to the situation of children in relation to COVID19 in the context of conflicts. It is envisaged that the briefing of the Special Rapporteur of ACERWC will have two objectives. The first is to provide the Council with an overview on the status of child protection during COVID19 and the multifaceted impacts of the pandemic on the protection and wellbeing of children. Second, the briefing is expected to present a Guiding Note for Children’s Rights in response to COVID-19 for PSC’s endorsement.
Of concern for PSC members is to address critical issues on child protection, more particularly in the context of conflicts.
In conflict situations, a major challenge in terms of protecting children from COVID19 is the possibility of implementation of the social distancing measures and access to water and sanitation, which are the frontline prevention measures. The congestion and poor sanitation of internally displaced persons camps or refugee camps mean that children, who constitute a significant percentage of the population in these camps lack the means for observing the COVID19 prevention measures and face a higher risk of exposure. The enforcement of COVID19 response measures such as lockdowns or curfews in countries affected by conflict or hosting refugees also exposes children to various threats including abuses, sexual and gender-based violence to the girl child.
The current heightened attention to contain the COVID-19 and the response measures can also create conditions that exacerbates the vulnerable conditions of children. Fighting forces wishing to score military advantages may, as witnessed in the conflicts in the Sahel, increase fighting endangering the security and life of children in affected areas. The COVID19 may also be used by fighting forces for recruiting children in an attempt to infuse their forces with new energy. The COVID19 response measures including travel restrictions and curfews, which highly constrain the work of humanitarian operations, have the effect of limiting the provision of services, including the ability of children to receive the appropriate vaccination, which are time sensitive.
COVID19 measures also affect children and increases the risk of their exposure to violence and violation of their rights due to the limitations on the operations of not only humanitarian actors but also civil society and media. It in particular undermines monitoring, investigation, reporting and protection work of various actors, thereby creating conditions that expose children to increased attacks and violations with impunity.
The suspension of school has direct impact on children that depend on school feeding and it also takes away the protection the school environment offers to children, including in the context of IDP or refugee camps. Moreover, distance learning options, which are introduced in some countries may not necessarily be feasible to many children that do not have access to internet connection and technological equipment. There are indeed fears that this would not only deepen the digital divide but also importantly the exclusion of children without access to online education, with dire consequences to their future opportunities. Children in areas affected by conflict would be affected the most from such shifts in delivery of classes.
The closure of schools has particularly affected girls not only in terms of increased burdens for domestic responsibilities in conflict affected settings but also harmful practices including female genital mutilation and forced marriage, which are reported to be on the rise during the pandemic. Low-income households use early and forced marriages as coping mechanisms. In this regard the briefing may also elaborate on the specific needs of the girl child in conflict situation.
The other adverse effect of closure of schools is the risk of military occupation of education facilities, with very serious consequences not only for the right to education of children but also to the safety and security of schools and hence children.
Another challenge that has emerged in the context of COVID19 and the response of states to the pandemic is the exclusion of IDPs, refugees and asylum seekers, putting the health and lives of the most vulnerable in these communities notably children in danger. The preventive efforts including testing and the provision of health and sanitation services need to take in consideration the special needs of children, particularly those in communities affected by conflicts including refugee camps.
One of the major protection issues that may be raised in tomorrow’s briefing is the impact of lockdowns, state of emergency laws and their enforcement on the safety and wellbeing of children. The expanded role of the state in this extraordinary situation needs to be examined to also prevent the use of excessive force that may lead to harming children, their parents or custodians.
The presentation may also make reference to the call of the Chairperson of the Commission, Moussa Faki Mahammat and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres for ceasefire of hostilities and urge belligerent parties to comply with this call including by preventing attacks and violence against children. Highlighting the devastating impacts of armed conflict on children and other vulnerable populations, the Secretary-General noted that these groups are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19. In the context of the upsurge in fighting in Libya involving the deliberate targeting of civilian areas leading to civilian casualties including children, Faki issued a statement on 10 May calling for ‘an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in order to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid relating to the fight against COVID19.’ It will be essential to reiterate this call by the Special Rapporteur to put children’s right at the centre of all the global, regional and national efforts.
The expected outcome is a communiqué. The PSC may take note of the wide range of risks and vulnerabilities experienced by children during COVID19 in the context of conflicts. It may reiterate the global call of Faki and Guterres for all fighting groups to cease all their hostilities in order to create the conditions for fighting COVID19. Considering the particular needs and rights of children in their response to the pandemic, the PSC may call on states to take due cognizance of the impact of COVID19 measures on children, particularly in areas affected by conflict. It may call on member states to strengthen their efforts in continuing the delivery of basic health services in addition to those related to COVID19. The PSC may also urge fighting forces and national authorities to allow the delivery of life saving humanitarian assistance by humanitarian actors to conflict affected populations including people in IDP camps or refugee camps. It may also call on states to ensure that protection measures cover IDPs, refugees, and asylum seekers in order to safeguard children in these communities from the morbidity and mortality risks associated with contracting of COVID19.
Briefing on the spread, control and implications of COVID-19
Amani Africa
Date | 06 May, 2020
Tomorrow (6 May) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is expected to have a VTC briefing on the spread, control and implications of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in Africa. It is expected that the Director of Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) John Nkengasong will give the main briefing.
It is to be recalled that during its 918th session dedicated to the impact of the pandemic on the peace and security of the continent the PSC has requested the Africa CDC to continue providing regular briefings on COVID19. Subsequently, the PSC also received a briefing on the humanitarian impact of COVID19 with a focus on the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from the Commissioner of Political Affairs.
In tomorrow’s briefing, it is envisioned that Africa CDC will present an overview of the current situation across Africa including the spread of the virus, what the trend in the spread of the virus tells us and where Africa stands in terms of reaching the peak. Since the first confirmed case was reported in Egypt on 14 February, the spread of the virus over the course of March and April has covered all parts of the continent. The spread of the virus has skyrocketed by many folds.
According to the Africa CDC daily tracking of the spread of the virus, as at 5 May, 53 AU member states have reported 47,118 confirmed cases of COVID19 and 1843 deaths and 15,587 recoveries. Despite the fact that the continuing accelerated rise in the spread of the virus, Africa CDC expresses concern that the number of confirmed cases does not tell us the full story. As Nkengasong pointed out to the medical publication Nature, ‘the count is likely to be an underestimate; Ethiopia has run about 11,000 tests – only 10 for every 100,000 people’. During the press briefing late last week, he also noted that testing in Africa is very limited, noting that with 1.3 billion people the continent has so far tested less than 500,000 people, which is less than 500 per million.
All indications are that the real picture of the spread of the virus remains unknown. This means that it is not clear if the worst in the spread of the virus in Africa has already passed. Indeed, the expectation is that Africa has yet to reach the peak in the spread of the virus.
While underscoring the imperative for scaling up testing, it is expected that Nkengasong will inform the PSC the various factors hampering testing on the continent. He has already pointed out that ‘lack of access to diagnostics is Africa’s Achilles heel.’ Despite the increase in the capacity of African countries to test, appropriate regents for testing are not available on the market. The tragedy is that while African countries have the funds to pay for regents, they cannot however buy them. This is not only on account of the disruption of the supply chains but also restrictions that countries adopted on the export of medical goods and the race by the powerful to acquire whatever COVID19 tests are available.
Moreover, in addition to diagnostics the briefing may also highlight the tools and resources needed for prevention and management of the pandemic including personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and other respiratory equipment.
It is expected that the briefing will also give update on ongoing efforts by the Centre in line with the implementation of the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID19 Outbreak. On 21 April, Africa CDC has launched the Partnership to Accelerate COVID19 Testing (PACT): Trace, Test & Track (CDC-T3), among other issues to support for the testing of one million Africans in 10 weeks, support for the deployment of one million community healthcare workers to support contact tracing and coordination of medical equipment distribution. As part of these ongoing efforts towards scaling up the continental testing capacity, the AU has established a COVID-19 Diagnostic Laboratory in the AU PANVAC in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. This initiative is also important in supporting and speeding up the production of test kits within Africa.
Given the nature of the pandemic, enhancing the coordination of response at national and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) level is critical for the effectiveness of the response. Particularly establishing continues information and data sharing as well as transparency will enable policy makers to identify patterns across countries and regions.
Also important for Africa is the effort for pulling resources together and source the necessary supplies for enhancing the capacity of the continent in fighting COVID19 at the level of the AU through Africa CDC. According to Nkengasong this would allow African countries to negotiate as one large customer, rather than as many small buyers fighting for a seat at the table.
On 29 April the Bureau of the Assembly held its third virtual meeting on the continental response on COVID19. The Bureau met with representatives of RECs. The discussion focused on the level of infection and on the spread at the regional level. The data from Africa CDC shows that Norther region with 17,700 cases is the region with the highest number of cases, followed by West Africa with 13,000 cases. The Bureau and representatives of RECs reiterated support to the efforts of Africa CDC particularly in relation to increasing testing capacity to ensure that in the next four months 10 million tests are undertaken through AU PACT initiative. Moreover, the Heads of State and Government endorsed the call for debt cancellation and the development of relief packages.
The other point, which the PSC may also address, is around measures taken by government to contain the virus particularly around imposition of lockdowns and restriction of movement. In this regard the increased use of excessive force by security officers has been a concerning trend. In many cases the pandemic is being used as a pretext to enforce repression on individuals and communities. The PSC may urge member states to observe established human rights standards when applying measures to contain COVID19.
The Africa CDC, in line with the guidelines shared by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been continuously providing scientific and evidence based analysis and technical expertise to member states. However there has been an increased approach by certain member states, which are at times antithetical to the established scientific method. The PSC may utilize tomorrow’s session to address this concerning trend. It may urge member states to strictly follow the guidelines developed by the WHO and Africa CDC when disseminating information on the prevention and management of the pandemic. Misguided and unscientific measures will put people in danger and worsen the level of infection. It is also important to note that given that COVID19 is a novel virus, the findings on the disease are still evolving.
While the expected outcome of the session is not known during the production of this ‘Insight’, it is expected to be a communique. The expectation is that the PSC will welcome the work of Africa CDC and express the importance of enhanced support for its work. The PSC could also underscore the importance and necessity of continental level investment not only for addressing COVID19 but also for dealing with future pandemics. The PSC could applaud the launch of the Partnership to Accelerate COVID19 Testing (PACT): Trace, Test & Track (CDC-T3) and urge that the efforts for scaling up testing are speeded up. The PSC may also call on the international community to ensure that Africa has market access to diagnostics and to this end restrictions on the export of medical materials should be lifted to allow Africa to have the necessary inputs for rolling out and scaling up testing, which is critical in the effort to contain the virus. It may reiterate its support to governments for their efforts in fighting COVID19 and urge them to continue exercising maximum caution as some of them ease the restrictions imposed as part of the effort to contain the spread of the virus. The PSC may urge member states to ensure that their COVID19 responses including provision of public health information are in line with the global and continental guidelines established by the WHO and Africa CDC.