Child Rights during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from Child Health-and-Rights Professionals across the World.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Child Rights Advocacy
• International Policy

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic revealed critical needs for child rights in crisis management.
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a foundation for child rights.
• Existing frameworks like the 3P model (provision, protection, participation) require enhancement for crisis situations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To gather expert perspectives on children's rights during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
• To evaluate the utility of an expanded 5P framework (provision, protection, participation, preparation, power) for assessing child rights.
• To identify how children's rights were addressed in pandemic responses globally.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative survey distributed to child health and rights specialists worldwide.
• Analysis of 68 responses from multi-disciplinary professionals across eight regions.
• Utilized Atlas.ti 9 software for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Children's rights were largely unprotected during the initial pandemic response.
• The pandemic negatively impacted children's health, wellbeing, and participation.
• Children had limited opportunities to voice concerns to policymakers.

Conclusions:

• The 5P framework offers a robust structure for ethical, child rights-based decision-making in future crises.
• Enhanced frameworks are crucial for ensuring children's rights are prioritized during global emergencies.
• The study emphasizes the need for improved child participation in policy development during crises.