UNICEF representative in Romania: Post-pandemic world to be tougher for children unless we take measures

UNICEF representative in Romania Pieter Bult said that, even before the pandemic, the situation of children in Romania was difficult, and what is happening now will make things worse, saying that measures must be taken to continue the essential services for them. It is a challenging period for all of us. UNICEF in Romania acts to support the measures to counter COVID-19 and, at the same time, makes efforts to ensure the maintenance of essential services for children: education, protection and health. Even before this pandemic the situation of children in Romania was difficult, and what is happening now will make things worse. If we do not take the measures to continue the essential services for children now, the world after the pandemic will be tougher for children. We are developing protocols so that community-level professionals, who are on the front lines, can continue to go on-site safely, to provide services to children in vulnerable environments, said Bult, according to a UNICEF release issued on Tuesday for AGERPRES. Members of the Romanian Children's Board discussed online on Tuesday with Pieter Bult. Given that the schools in Romania have been closed for over a month, and pupils are at home in the exclusive care of their parents, UNICEF wanted to find out from the children, through this online dialogue, what are the challenges they face during this period and how they manage to overcome them. In turn, the participating children asked questions to the UNICEF representative about the organization's actions to reduce the negative effects of COVID-19 on the little ones and, in particular, on the vulnerable children and their families in Romania. Children in Romania are concerned about the safety of parents who continue to go to work, the education they receive during this period, the environment and the impact that quarantine measures have on reducing pollution, information sources and the need to have a personal space. The children told how they manage to deal with the new normality: they find new hobbies, they learn to cook, they try to watch news less and they keep in touch with friends. Established in 2019, the Romanian Children's Board is a group made up of children of different ages, from all over the country, coming from family backgrounds and from the child protection system, with different ethnic origins and with a varied experience in the field of representation. AGERPRES (RO - author: Iulia Carciog, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Bogdan Gabaroi, editor: Simona Iacob)