COVID-19 and Children’s Rights
Children without permanent homes, who live or work on the streets and in other public spaces, may be unable to comply with public health orders mandating self-isolation, quarantines, or curfews. In Senegal, an estimated 100,000 Talibe children – Quranic students often forced to beg on the streets – are experiencing increased hunger as donations become scarce. Shelters for children and homeless families may quickly become overcrowded, making physical distancing impossible. Such children also frequently lack continuous access to safe water and hygiene facilities such as soap and water to comply with the recommendations put forward by public health authorities on reducing the spread of the disease. Studies in various locations have shown that LGBT youth make up a large portion of the homeless population.
(Image: A child washing hands with anti-bacterial soap as a preventive measure against COVID-19, at Sadarghat Launch Terminal, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 27, 2020. © 2020 Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/Sipa USA via AP Images)