Editorial | Delivering basic rights of children

There are ongoing concerns about the state of the world’s children, wherein one in five children in low- and middle-income countries are severely deprived in at least two areas crucial for their health, development and well-being.

Drawing from data from over 130 low- and middle-income countries, UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children report measures deprivations across six categories: education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation and water.

In Jamaica, though the circumstances are not as stark as war-torn countries, there are challenges to overcome for children, especially those in Hurricane Melissa-affected western parishes. The report highlights that, across the world, environmental shocks, economic stress, and disrupted schooling are increasing the risks for children.

It is imperative that frameworks are put in place for robust school-feeding schemes, maternal and early-childhood nutrition, and community nutrition programmes, as part of social infrastructure initiatives.

Quality education, as this newspaper has repeatedly highlighted, remains one of Jamaica’s challenges. Nearly 120,000 Jamaican children had disengaged from learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation improved post-2020, though persistent challenges remain. UNICEF estimates that 50,000 secondary-age students remain out of school, of which three out of five are boys.

RESILIENT SCHOOLS

Investment must be made in resilient, well-staffed schools – classrooms that can withstand storms, repairs that can be done quickly after disasters, and remote-learning systems that work when communities are disrupted.

Many students – including those with learning difficulties or neurodevelopmental differences – are being left behind because schools lack the resources, assessments and support they require.

There is need for universal screening, early assessment, support for special-education needs, and public funding for remedial, therapeutic and learning-support services. Inclusion is non-negotiable, for children with special needs or those whose struggles remain hidden.

Further, the safety of children at home, school and their communities should be paramount.

Access to safe water and food in many communities, particularly those in hurricane-ravaged western parishes, is patchy. As the Government implements recovery programmes, and is in the process of implementing the school nutrition policy, school feeding and community nutrition programmes must be expanded and protected as core social infrastructure. Targeted support for pregnant women and children under five is essential.

Effective parenting needs to be strengthened. Many parents lack the communication skills to nurture their children effectively, primarily out of desperation and exhaustion. We reiterate our call for a mass programme akin to the national literacy drive of the 1970s, to build parenting skills and strengthen family-level care.

Good parenting cannot succeed in isolation; it needs support from schools, communities, social workers, and the Government. That must be part of a comprehensive child-welfare strategy.

PLANNING AND FUNDING

Indeed, returning to classrooms after a crisis requires planning and funding. Protecting children is a public duty and a fiscal necessity. There have to be safety nets from violence at home, the community and institutions. To effectively deal with these, law enforcement, child protection services and social workers must be better resourced, their efforts better coordinated and they need to work in tandem. Civil society organisations, churches and local leaders have a critical role to play as partners with resources and practical know-how.

If the children are hungry, unsafe or out of school, the country loses on future workers, thinkers and leaders.

It is imperative that children’s well-being is treated as a national priority with clear and achievable targets, progress of which should be shared with the public. The government must be held accountable on measurable indicators – rates of child malnutrition, school attendance and learning outcomes, reported incidents of violence and the turnaround time to resolve child-protection cases.

Short-term projects, though crucial in the initial recovery phase post-Hurricane Melissa, are stopgap – for the long term, there need to be clearly defined, scalable and sustainable programmes.

As Jamaica rebuilds, emphasis needs to be placed on climate-resilient critical infrastructure, upon which this newspaper has previously articulated – schools, which also double up as storm shelters, and primary health centres should be rebuilt or retrofitted to withstand storms and to remain operational when disaster strikes. That should include backup power, safe water supplies, reliable communication systems and protected records. It is important that education and health services continue to function for children when they are at their most vulnerable.

Resources should be demarcated for community-based prevention, support systems for families in crisis, and more child-friendly ecosystems. The government needs to focus on plans with solid funding and building up systems for the long haul.