Statistics revealed that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has hampered the education of 1.6 billion children world-wide. A large majority of those affected are between preschool age and 18 years old.
As part of activities marking the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB), it is important to look at this event, which is dedicated to children across the globe.
ICDB as widely referred to give children a platform to express their voices on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their daily lives since the outbreak of the virus.
Celebrated on March 7th globally, the theme for this year’s celebration is – ‘Unite to Reverse the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children.
However, what makes this year’s theme interesting is that fact that it is dedicated to the plight of children amid Covid-19. We all know how the pandemic impacted on many vulnerable families globally.
There is need for children to showcase their plight as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which mentioned survival and development of a child, which is also enshrined in the Children’s Act of 2005 of The Gambia.
The pandemic is in fact, amplifying the struggles that children are already facing in receiving quality education. Even before the outbreak of the virus, there were a number of out-of-school children across the globe - principally due to poverty among a host of others.
We must bear in mind that the protection of children’s wellbeing should be a primary duty of all stakeholders.
We therefore want to take this opportunity to wish all the children around the globe as they set to mark this year’s event.
The beauty about this event is that on this day, thousands of broadcasters in more than a hundred countries help children to be directly involved in radio and television programming, production and presentation.
As a result, children share experiences with their peers, and give voice to their hopes and dreams.
Happy ICDB in advance!