Increasingly pandemics and outbreaks are becoming commonplace. In these unprecedented times, children and families are facing new and increased stressors. As a result there is increased risk of injury, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; neglect and exploitation. The child protection team is adapting existing reporting and referral mechanisms for child protection, equipping frontline workers to respond to children affected by violence, and ensuring alternative care for children. This is especially important as the pandemic and occasional outbreaks exacerbate the deep inequalities in the poorest countries and communities disadvantaged by fragility and conflict.
Specific Resources
The Protection in Outbreaks (PiO) resource package is part of the Integrated Health and Protection Outbreak Response toolkit, and aims to equip frontline protection and health service providers with tools and guidance on how to mitigate protection risks, respond to protection needs, and ensure inclusion of marginalized groups in outbreak responses. The resources are organized across three modes of transmission — bloodborne or body-fluid borne, respiratory, and waterborne, with a particular focus on Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), COVID-19 and Cholera. They are now available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. You can easily navigate all the resources through the following table of contents:
- Introduction
- Body-fluid and bloodborne transmission package
- Respiratory transmission package
- Waterborne transmission package
Below you will find additional resources that can be adapted for use during pandemics and outbreaks.