Decline in Child Wellbeing Post-Pandemic: UNICEF Report Shows Romania Faring Better in Mental Health Aspects but Lags Behind in Physical Health
Updated Report Unveils Child Welfare Deterioration in Wealthy Nations Amid Pandemic
In the heart of the pandemic, UNICEF Innocenti's latest analysis reveals a chilling decline in children's well-being across numerous high-income countries, including Romania. The Netherlands, Denmark, and France top the list, but the picture is grim in many parts of Europe.
The recent Report Card 19: Child Well-being in a Rollercoaster World delves into the impact of the pandemic and global disruptions on children residing in 43 OECD and EU countries. The report etherealizes the dark clouds that seem to hover over our kids' scholarly performance, mental health, and physical health.
Amazingly, the Netherlands, Denmark, and France maintain their lead as frontrunners in all aspects: mental health, physical health, and skills. Sadly, Romania lags behind, sitting at the 16th spot among the 36 high-income countries included. The country earns high marks for mental health (5th place), but falters significantly in the physical health and skills departments, ranking 32nd and 26th, respectively.
Since the pandemic took hold, Romania has seen a drop in life satisfaction, as well as a rise in the number of overweight children. The percentage of kids expressing satisfaction with life slipped from 85% to 81%, while the rate of overweight children climbed from 21% to 23%.
In a disheartening turn of events, the report estimates that around 8 million, or nearly half of the 15-year-olds across the 43 assessed countries, struggle with basic reading and math proficiency.
UNICEF blames school closures during the pandemic - which ranged from three to twelve months - as a significant hurdle for children in maintaining their academic progress. The switch to remote learning left many youngsters grappling with lost educational ground.
Furthermore, the report underscores a worrying dip in life satisfaction among children in 15 surveys, with Japan being the exception, as it saw a marked improvement. A sharpening focus on overweight and obesity rates also worries researchers, as these numbers have doubled in 14 countries, continuing a historical pattern of deteriorating child physical health.
UNICEF sounds an alarm that even in high-income countries, the future of child well-being is perilous, threatened by events such as climate change. Urging governments to promptly rally across multiple policy areas, UNICEF aims to hit the brakes on this downward trend, particularly for children who suffered during the pandemic.
Some wise recommendations include refocusing on core skills, such as reading, math, digital, social, and emotional competence; bolstering mental health through initiatives in prevention, promotion, and specialized services; advocating for physical health by ensuring access to healthy food and limiting unhealthy food marketing; and phasing in children's involvement in decision-making processes.
IRINA MARICA @our website(Photo Credit: Oksun70/Dreamstime.com)
- In light of the UNICEF Innocenti's report, there's increasing concern over the declining health-and-wellness of children, especially their mental health, as well as their learning abilities, in numerous wealthy nations.
- To combat this alarming trend, UNICEF advocates for severe policy changes in education-and-self-development, mental-health, and physical-health sectors, focusing on core skills, mental health support, healthy food access, and children's involvement in decision-making processes.
