The pandemic had an impact on the lives of Brazilian babies and children: poverty, malnutrition, lack of health care and education, in addition to the loss of mother, father or guardians to the covid-19. Faced with the health and economic crisis, children even stopped being vaccinated and, thus, complying with the planned schedule for childhood, becoming vulnerable to various illnesses. The information is part of Epicovid-19, a survey carried out by the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) in partnership with Ibope.
Unpublished data from Epicovid-19, the largest epidemiological survey on the disease carried out in Brazil, is presented today (6), at the IX International Symposium on Early Childhood Development, held by the Núcleo Ciência pela Infância (NCPI). The pandemic had indirect and direct impacts on children’s lives. Until September of this year, 867 children aged up to 4 years and 194 children aged 5 to 9 years died in Brazil due to covid-19. The study also shows that 273 adolescents aged 10 to 14 years and 808, aged 15 to 19 years were also victims of the disease.
“We have to think in broad terms, in public policies to fight poverty, intellectual stimulation, medical assistance – for example, the vaccinations that were lost –, education, and so on. Potentially effective programs such as Criança Feliz need to be revitalized, as the pandemic has markedly affected the frequency of home visits in order to encourage interaction between children and their families”, defends Cesar Victora, professor emeritus of Epidemiology at UFPel and coordinator of Epicovid.
Both covid and other infectious diseases in young children, according to Victora, are more worrying, as they “have an immature immune system and die more than older children from pneumonia, diarrhea and many other infections,” he says.
According to the survey, children also stopped being vaccinated. During the pandemic period, 22.7% of the poorest children were not vaccinated. Among the richest, the index is 15%. The biggest impact is the fact that children who are already weakened by malnutrition resulting from the increase in poverty, are even more susceptible to other infectious diseases that can be prevented by immunization”, says the coordinator of the study.
The researcher defends special attention to childhood and the reinforcement of public policies: “Investing in early childhood and minimizing the effects of the pandemic is essential to ensure not only the health of future generations, but also the human capital that will allow our country to develop. in the coming decades”.
Nationally, the Happy Child Program is one of the main initiatives aimed at children. The program serves families with children between zero and 6 years old. Through home visits to the families participating in the Cadastro Único, the Criança Feliz teams monitor and guide their development.
Victora also presents interview data with participants in the Criança Feliz program that show that 11% of children were no longer vaccinated in September 2020. In January 2021, the rate dropped to 10%. In addition, 6% of pregnant women missed prenatal consultations in September 2020. In January, the percentage rose to 10%.
Ministry of Citizenship
In a statement, the Ministry of Citizenship says that, due to the need for social isolation, remote service was authorized and the visitors of Criança Feliz started to develop activities through video calls and forward the content to parents and guardians through digital platforms .
“In cases of families with difficulty accessing technology, face-to-face meetings were held, following all security protocols. Eventually, the activities were delivered to the beneficiaries’ doorsteps and collected later. In addition to addressing issues related to early childhood, the visits also included information and guidance on combating covid-19”, says the folder.
According to the ministry, in 2020 the program broke a record of 1.1 million people attended by 26,000 visitors across the country. Throughout the year, 40 million visits were made. In August of this year, it surpassed the mark of 50 million visits and is present in the homes of more than 1.2 million Brazilians.
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