How the pandemic has affected children across the globe

IT’S BEEN more than a year since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. A pandemic is declared when a specific disease has spread to almost all countries in the world.

Over the past year the pandemic has changed how we live: we have to practise social distancing, wear masks when we go out and wash our hands often. Schooling has also been severely disrupted.

Here are three ways the Covid-19 pandemic has affected our lives:

S Education To prevent the spread of the virus among learners and educators, schools were closed as countries went into lockdown. Many children had to stay indoors, learn at home with their parents and do lessons online.

This has a huge impact in poorer countries where people often don’t have access to PCs or other devices and the internet. Without access to technology, children weren’t able to complete their work for the year.

Unicef, an organisation advocating for children’s rights around the world, has said that because some children lack access to educational resources, they have been forced to go out to work despite still being too young to legally do so.

S Communication Many of us haven’t been able to see our friends and families face to face because of travel restrictions and fear of spreading the disease.

We’ve had to make use of phones and laptops for video calls to keep in touch with our loved ones. As a result, TikTok has become one of the most downloaded apps in the world. S Wellbeing With so much bad news and change in the world as a result of the pandemic, many people have struggled with their mental health.

People have been encouraged by medical experts to prioritise (treat it as important) their mental health. This means talking to someone you trust about problems and feelings and learning how to deal with things that might worry you or make you sad, angry or frustrated.