Enhancing Comprehensive

Growth And Development of

Children in Covid Pandemic
Scenario: Issues, Challenges
and Nursing Implications.
INTRODUCTION
Covid 19 has affected people of all age groups. But
children are at risk of being the biggest victims of this
pandemic.
This is a universal crisis, and for some children, the impact
will be lifelong.
The effects of this pandemic is expected to be most
damaging for children in developing countries.
IMPACT OF THE
PANDEMIC ON
CHILDREN
PUSHING MORE HOUSEHOLDS
INTO POVERTY

Due to COVID-19 the global economy is

going into recession, more households are
falling into poverty.

For poor families this situation is even

more critical.
 CONT…
According to projections as of November
2020, 142 million more children are pushed
to monetary poor households in
developing countries.
Total children living in poor households
globally could reach just over 725 million.
Nearly two-thirds of these children live in
sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
MULTIDIMENSIONAL
POVERTY
Approximately 150 million children are living in
multidimensional poverty
Multi dimensions of poverty include-
Without Access To Education
Health Care
Housing
Nutrition
Sanitation
Water
EXACERBATING THE LEARNING CRISIS
188 countries imposed countrywide school closures
during the pandemic, affecting more than 1.6 billion
children and youth.

Schools for more than 168 million children globally

have been completely closed for almost an entire year
due to COVID-19 lockdowns, as of March 2020.

Globally, many schools lack the resources to invest in

digital learning, and many children from poorer
households do not have internet access.
 CONT…
At least one in three world’s schoolchildren –
463 million children globally – were unable to
access remote learning due to COVID-19
impact.

In many situations, despite remote learning

policies and the presence of the necessary
technology at home, children may be unable to
learn due to skills gaps among their teachers or
a lack of parental support and technical
difficulties.
 CONT…
Even short disruptions in children’s schooling
can have long-lasting negative impacts on the
children.

In the past, school closures have led to an

increase in child marriage and child labour
which often prevent children from continuing
their education.
THREATS TO CHILD SURVIVAL & HEALTH

While children appear to be largely spared the

direct mortality impacts of COVID-19.

Indirect effects from strained health systems

and disruptions to life-saving health services
such as immunization and antenatal care, can
result in devastating increases in child deaths.
 CONT…
COVID-19 is also likely to increase the
number of stillbirths. Nearly 200,000
additional stillbirths could occur in 12 months
as women are less likely or able to access
health services.

 This senseless loss of life can often be

prevented with quality antenatal and delivery
care but even before the pandemic hit, few
women were receiving the necessary care to
prevent stillbirths.
 MORE VULNERABLE CHILDREN
SUFFERING FROM MALNOURISHMENT
Today, more vulnerable children are becoming
malnourished due to the deteriorating quality of
their diets and the multiple shocks created by
the pandemic and its containment measures.

Efforts to mitigate the transmission of COVID-

19 are disrupting food systems, upending health
and nutrition services, devastating livelihoods,
and threatening food security.
 REDUCED ACCESS TO
LIFE-SAVING VACCINES
Every year, vaccines save an estimated 2 to 3
million lives, but COVID-19 threatens to roll back
decades of progress made in reducing
preventable child deaths.
According to new data, nearly 14 million
children did not receive any vaccines in 2019.
Additionally, almost 6 million children received
some but not all vaccines required for full
protection against many life-threatening diseases.
 CONT…
With COVID-19 putting enormous pressure on
already weak or overstretched health systems, the
number of unvaccinated and under vaccinated
children is expected to increase, exacerbating
existing inequities and putting the lives of many
children at serious risk of disease or death.

More than 94 million children are at risk of missing

measles vaccines because of paused measles
campaigns in 26 countries due to efforts to control
COVID-19 (as of November 2020), threatening to
exacerbate ongoing measles outbreaks.
 CONT…
Worldwide, cases of measles surged to nearly
870,000 in 2019, the highest number of reported
cases in the past 23 years.

And global measles deaths have climbed nearly

50% since 2016, claiming an estimated 207,500 lives
in 2019 alone.
 DECADES-LONG PROGRESS IN THE FIGHT
AGAINST HIV UNDER THREAT
New HIV infections among young children have
decreased by half in the last decade, however,
service disruptions due to COVID-19 could
reverse these gains.

The number of new HIV infections is projected to

nearly double if 100 per cent of the population
loses access to treatment services over a six-month
period, and the number of paediatric deaths will
similarly soar.
 INCREASED RISKS OF VIOLENCE,
EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE

Lockdowns measures can expose children to a

range of risks. Several factors related to
confinement measures are likely to result in
heightened tensions in the household, added
stressors placed on caregivers, economic
uncertainty, job loss or disruption to livelihoods,
and social isolation.

These are well known risk factors for violence at

home.
 CONT…
And as the risk of violence against children has
increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, child
protection services have been weakened due in
part to measures implemented to control the
spread of the virus. 1.8 billion children live in the
104 countries where violence prevention and
response services have been disrupted due to
COVID-19.
 CONT…
The everyday lives of girls have been overturned
by the pandemic: their physical and mental
health, their education, and the economic
circumstances of their families and communities.

Changes like these increase the likelihood of child

marriage, and over the next decade, up to 10
million more girls will be at risk of becoming child
brides as a result of the pandemic.
 CONT…
The risk of child marriage increases through various
pathways, including economic shocks, school
closures and interruptions in services.
It is well known, for example, that economic
insecurity can lead to child marriage as a way to
relieve financial pressure on a family.
The evidence is also clear that education is a
protective factor against child marriage.
Thus, school closures such as those triggered by
COVID-19 may, in effect, push girls towards
marriage since school is no longer an option.
 NURSING IMPLICATIONS

Nurses are directly responsible for assuring growth

& development of the child.
All children pass through predictable stages of
growth & development as they mature.
Parents often will ask a nurse what to expect from
their child regarding developmental progress.
Nurses has to take extra care in this Covid situation
to identify issues faced by children because of the
pandemic.
 STEPS TO HELP CHILDREN AND PARENTS
DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Be aware that children may be unduly distressed

when being admitted to hospital.
Help them to voice their concerns, feelings and any
worries.
Ask them what they know about the coronavirus
and what they understand.
Treat their responses with respect and correct any
misconceptions.
 CONT…
Make time for them to ask questions and provide
simple, calm responses.
Use creative means such as stories, games, drawings
and toys to help explain information in a simple and
engaging way.
Think of the child’s age and tailor your responses to
their developmental understanding.
For children who are very anxious, ask them to
write their worries on paper as naming their fears
will help reduce the emotional impact.
 CONT…
For children who are anxious, let them talk about
their feelings and help them to reframe their
concerns to a more helpful way of thinking.
Advise parents to acknowledge their child’s fears
and be open to discussing them rather than denying
the feelings.
Advise parents on how they can explain the virus
and reassure their child.
Provide support for parents as they may be worried
about their own health and their wider family,
particularly those who have underlying medical
conditions.
 CONT…
Be strong advocates and alert all members of the
multidisciplinary team that children may be feeling
acute anxiety due to the virus.

Children cope better when they know what to

expect so careful preparation is essential before
procedures.

Try not to express your concerns in front of children

or parents.
 CONCLUSION

COVID-19 produces potential risks to child

development due to the risk of illness, protective
confinement, social isolation, and the increased
stress level of parents and caregivers.
In this pandemic situation nurses should focus on
the creation of activities to promote health and
healthy development and prevent toxic stress in
children and their families.
THANK YOU