Unicef has fought on many fronts since it began its war 75 years ago to improve the lives of the most vulnerable members of society, children. But he had never faced a situation like the current one, in which two major crises have followed one another and overlapped. Still focused on mitigating the global consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, they are forced to react to the war in Ukraine. The first has been seen by this organization as “the greatest global threat to the progress of childhood.” The current one, they believe, is on its way to becoming “the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.” Gustavo Suárez, who has just renewed his position as president of Unicef, reviews the challenges facing the emblematic organization at a key moment.
-Unicef was already working in Ukraine, where aid has been provided throughout more than eight years of sustained conflict. How have you coped with the new emergency?
-We are very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine; it could become the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. It had already been one of our great concerns in Europe, but, after recent events, it is confirmed as a serious threat to the life and well-being of the 7.5 million girls and boys in the country. The consequences of the latest attacks on basic infrastructure and the continued escalation of the conflict dramatically increase the need for humanitarian aid. We have intensified efforts across the country to expand programs aimed at saving children’s lives and protecting them.
-What priorities have they established?
-Our work includes the provision of drinking water and emergency health, hygiene and education supplies as close as possible to the affected communities; In addition, mobile teams also provide psychosocial care to children traumatized by chronic insecurity. We are also activating on the border. The United Nations has already made it clear: migratory pressure can reach up to 5 million people. We will not leave them alone. We have just delivered some four million basic hygiene products to refugees on the border with the Republic of Moldova. And we will continue with more deliveries in that and other areas in the coming days. We are also going to take up the ‘Blue Points’, which we already used during the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe in 2015-2016. In these spaces, the children, together with their families, will be able to rest and play, be in a safe environment and forget, for a moment, the dangers that they have experienced during the trip. They also offer services such as family reunification, psychosocial support, legal guidance and first aid. In short, everything that refugee children and their families may need after the traumatic experience they are going through.
«The migratory pressure can reach up to 5 million people. We are not going to leave them alone”
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The United Nations puts Peace as its first objective in the hour of the road towards the future that we build, but we move away…
-It is unfortunate that the world now has more open conflicts than 30 years ago. Syria, Yemen… Some more lasting than others, others more sustained… Without going any further, this Ukraine has been alive for eight years and had already left deep psychological scars on the country’s childhood. All these conflicts give rise to millions of refugees, of whom an estimated 80 million are children.
-Now the Russian invasion has shaken us and brought closer the tragedy that is lived far from our border. But do you think that our society is aware of the rest of the conflicts you mention?
-It is true that we live well protected by our welfare societies. We have our problems (youth unemployment, pockets of poverty…), but despite everything we have a significant degree of well-being and we lose sight of many realities that are out there. There are 100 million more poor children in the world and we have detected that the process of combating child marriage, which we had all managed to reduce by 15% in recent years, is regressing. The number of girls being given in marriage is increasing again.
-In Spain it is said that we are especially supportive. Do you think so?
-We tend to flagellate ourselves with respect to what you were commenting about not feeling challenged by other harsh realities. But I also believe that it must be clearly stated that when Spanish society has been confronted with the realities of an urgent response such as the one we are experiencing now, it knows how to respond. As an example, it should be noted that Unicef has increased the number of partners in these two tough years of the pandemic. Society is actually very tolerant and very supportive, paradoxically and contrary to what he said before.
-After the pandemic, inequality has grown. How does this affect childhood?
-The pandemic has caused a deepening of social inequalities. In Spain this inequality is palpable, without going any further in the very configuration of Spanish cities can be seen. What has happened with the pandemic is that the most vulnerable social layers have not been able to defend themselves as well as the most prepared after receiving the impact of Covid-19. When it was time to react, these most vulnerable households have had less capacity to act. The risk we run now is that these inequalities deepen further. That is why we think that it is the first mission that we must have now: directly confront this problem.
“It is estimated that, of the refugees generated by the 30 conflicts that are still open in the world, 80 million are children”
-Do you think that during the pandemic the rights of children have been prioritized? Some measures were controversial.
-There were phases. In the early phases, it seemed that what affected children was not taken into account, we did not pay attention to their reality, we paid very little attention, for example, to school closures. Thing that, on the other hand, was not unique to our country. I do think that finally in Spain we did reasonably well and we have seen it in schools. Let’s not forget that there are still more than 260 million children with closed schools in the world.
-How to get the system to put the child at the center?
-Well, although it is not a specific field of action, I do believe that we must favor in a special and intense way the participation of children and young people in issues that affect them. The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes for them a right that was reserved for adults, that of participation, which is the first citizen’s right. You have to give them a voice; you have to know what they consider safe environments, to live in cities, to exercise their right to play and leisure. They need participation and to be heard.
-The most immediate consequences of the pandemic have been seen, but which do you think will be more serious in the long term?
-The paralysis of education meant the paralysis of socialization, which for many children without digital resources was total, so we think that this had a more serious effect on more vulnerable groups. I am referring to cases of child poverty. In Spain, the data does not correspond to our capacity and economic presence. 28% of children are in a situation of moderate poverty, which places us at the bottom of the European Union. They are the ones who have suffered the most from the pandemic, those who were in the worst conditions: single-parent families; large families; low-income families; migrants… Of all the possible effects, a very serious effect has been that of mental health, in which we have paid little attention, because it is seen as a stigma or a taboo. The pandemic, with all its force, has put mental health on the stage and we have begun to realize that confinements, closures, etc. have had consequences on mental health. According to our calculations, this affects 13% of adolescents in the world who have been diagnosed with a problem. If we add what will be undiagnosed… Children, and more especially girls, are the most vulnerable group.
-After the challenge of mental health, in what aspects do you think that Spain should intervene most urgently in terms of child welfare?
-I would say that we have to deal with it quickly, and furthermore, I think it is time to do it forcefully, due to the urgency of a list of specific issues: child poverty, the problem of unaccompanied migrant boys and girls (a very serious issue to despite the fact that they are a minimal percentage of Spanish youth), early school leaving (from 15 years of age), which also puts us at the bottom of the EU countries (something that generates everything from frustration to health problems) and Finally, climate change.
“The most difficult problem to face that we find is the consequences that the pandemic has left on children and young people”
-The experts insist on remembering that the latter has worse consequences for children.
-It is true that it has very negative consequences on many aspects related to the development of children and young people. But I think we are in time to intervene. We have to make that world better by 2030.
-If you had to choose, what would you say is the most difficult problem to face?
-If I had to say one, the mental health problems I mentioned. And I believe that we are in time to face this phenomenon.
-Regarding child poverty in Spain, does Unicef propose any radical measure to eradicate it?
-The truth is that they are very high figures and it must be addressed with different actions. First of all, we have been very involved in the minimum vital income. We believe that it is a service that, despite all the management problems, is a good measure. This should go in combination with the dependent child benefit, aimed at facilitating upbringing. We are working together with the government on the design, after previous studies, of a European program in which we have great hopes to eradicate this child poverty. The concept with which it works is that of the ‘European Child Guarantee’, which consists of diverting 5% of the resources that are made available by the European Union for Next Generation funds to the remedy of child poverty. This can have an important impact together with other indirect actions with families.
-Before you mentioned the horizon that marks the 2030 Agenda to achieve the well-being of children. Are we moving away or getting closer to this ambitious goal?
-The agenda is very ambitious, yes. The end is right there: we are in 2022. But at Unicef, during all these years, even before having the reference of this roadmap, we have worked for children in different lines, for general well-being and on specific issues (survival , educational, health…) The problem is that everything has been affected by the pandemic. And not only has progress been paralyzed, but in some cases it has been reversed. In my opinion, although it should be measured, we are at a time when it is especially necessary, and the great objective would be, to implement the processes included in the SDGs with greater intensity: if they speak of eradicating poverty, we have to solve the one that affects children; when it comes to quality education, there is a serious problem with early dropout; If we talk about equal opportunities, we are a highly digitalized country, but we have to look at the digital gap that persists. I think we were making serious progress, but the impact of the pandemic has deteriorated the improvement processes. Now we are in that phase and we run the risk of not arriving on time.