Protect the Children

DOKUMEN LEMBAGA PERLINDUNGAN PEREMPUAN DAN ANAK NTT.

Children of Malacca, NTT attending training and assistance from the Foundation for the Protection of Children and Women in NTT, August 2019.

This year marked the second time National Children\'s Day was commemorated during the Covid-19 pandemic. The national day is expected to provide support to children.

On that day, it is hoped that children can stay enthusiastic. The national day also serves as a reminder for parents, society, government, and the state to increase their responsiveness to children’s needs. Moreover, we have been living in the middle of a pandemic for 16 months, which has had a major impact on children’s lives, especially children from vulnerable groups. It is not only the threat of Covid-19, with cases and fatality rates continuing to increase among children, but also the pandemic control efforts that are having a broad impact on all dimensions of children\'s lives.

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The pandemic-induced crisis has a double impact, especially on children from poor families. Parents seeing a decline in their income, with many even losing their jobs, affect the welfare of their children. They have less chance of accessing quality education and health services, including nutritious foods, and even the psychosocial support they need to grow and develop.

Learning loss is no longer a threat, but this has actually happened to a number of children. Not only did they lose learning opportunities because of problems with learning from home, a number of children have been forced to quit school because they have to work or get married, especially girls, to ease their family\'s economic burden.

Staying at home does not always provide protection for children. Violence against children is increasing. Based on data from the Women\'s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, there were 3,122 cases of violence against children as of 3 June 2021. Not all cases were reported by members of the public.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Street children from Master\'s School students in Depok, West Java participated in an activity that was nurtured by Seto Mulyadi (familiarly called Kak Seto) as the Head of the Indonesian Child Protection Institute (LPAI) to provide motivation through games, songs, fairy tales and magic, on Monday (18/18). 5/2020).

Without immediate action through policies that mainstream child protection, the pandemic will have a long-term impact on the safety, welfare and future of children. The rights of a child to health, education, and protection must be a mitigation priority.

The right to health in particular still remains a big task. Data from the Indonesian Pediatric Society shows that Covid-19 cases among children have been increasing with a high mortality rate, even during the implementation of the emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat). As of 5 July 2021, there were 140,877 pediatric cases of Covid-19 and 556 deaths.

Basic health services should also be improved. Children\'s health determines their resilience to the risk of contracting Covid-19.

The caseload is high compared to other countries. The school reopening, although limited, must be rolled out very carefully to avoid new clusters at schools. Learning innovation and adaptation are needed to maintain the sustainability of children\'s education during the pandemic. Basic health services should also be improved. Children\'s health determines their resilience to the risk of contracting Covid-19.

The increased presence of the state in protecting and fulfilling the rights of children is needed during the pandemic so children can develop into quality human beings. As the theme of National Children\'s Day for the last two years says, “Protect Children, Advance Indonesia”. Children are the nation’s future.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)