Children can be ‘hidden victims’ of Coronavirus (COVID-19) if governments fail to strategize ways to lessen the effects of the pandemic on them, a regional non-governmental organization cautioned.
In a statement on the possible negative effects of the pandemic on minors, Southern Africa HIV & AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) called on governments to establish proactive steps towards improving children’s welfare as an investment in developing human capital.
Most children living with AIDS are forgotten from the face of Zimbabwe, abandoned in slums where they are struggling to get enough food, resources or medication to keep them going.
She said the imperative to take responsibility was a shared task that needs mandatory action without which children will be ‘hidden victims’ of the global pandemic.
“As COVID-19 steers us into a new way of living; the social protection, psychosocial learning, development and safety of our children requires establishing a pattern of “new norm” for their rights and well-being.
