Advocacy

“No to Child labor! No to virginity testing! No to child marriages!” Children chanted as they marched in the streets of Hatcliffe, a high-density suburb located in Harare.

The Safe Back to School Campaign dialogue, comes against a background where most schools in Zimbabwe have remained closed for the greater part of the year 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID 19 in the country in March. While children in developed countries quickly moved to have online lessons, in Zimbabwe this was mostly possible for learners enrolled in private schools only. Most children enrolled in public schools could not have online lessons due to a myriad of challenges, notably lack of computers, electricity, absence of internet and Wi-Fi among others, thus denying thousands of children their right to education throughout the COVID-19 period.

The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented with the virus spreading in almost all countries in the world. In Africa, all 54 out 55 countries have reported at least one COVID-19 infection. While confirmed COVID-19 cases on the continent remain relatively low- partly attributable to early and decisive action taken by many African governments as well as a youthful population – the COVID-19 pandemic has hit Africa hard, not only as a health crisis but also as a devastating socio-economic crisis that may persist over the months and years to come.

A Question and Answer session with Sibongile Damasane, Norad Transition Project Manager. She explains the Mobile Outreach sessions which were being conducted by Save the Children in the hard to reach areas of Zimbabwe.

A statement issued by Save the Children calling on the government of Zimbabwe to prioritise children in the overall Covid-19 response.