International organizations have warned of a “catastrophe that could affect an entire generation.”
World leaders should give priority to the immediate resumption of full-time education in schools in order to avoid “a catastrophe that could affect an entire generation,” UNICEF and UNESCO said in a joint statement.
The two organizations said that the closure of schools with 156 million students in 19 countries due to COVID-19 is causing potentially irreparable damage to the development of children.
They also pointed to contradictions in the strategies for reopening businesses and institutions, when schools remained closed and bars and restaurants opened.
“Closing schools puts our future at risk for the sake of the unclear advantages of the present,” the statement said. – We need to prioritize better. We have the opportunity to reopen schools in a safe environment, and we must do this.”
