NEWS: MPs briefed by WHO & UNESCO on impact of COVID-19 on children and schools
19.11.20 - Dr. David Nabarro and Dr. Valentina Baltag of the World Health Organization, joined by IPNEd Executive Director and event chair, Joseph Nhan-O'‘Reilly, speaking to IPNEd member parliamentarians
On 19 November 2020, IPNEd member parliamentarians joined experts from the World Health Organization and UNESCO to build their understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on schools and children, and to share their experiences with parliamentary peers around the world. The webinar was the first in a series of briefings for MPs on COVID-19 and education and future sessions will cover the impact of the pandemic on: learning, equity and financing.
Briefings were provided by Dr. David Nabarro, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General’s Special Envoy on COVID-19 Preparedness and Response, Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, and Dr. Valentina Baltag, WHO Global School Opening Lead in the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health.
The unanimous message provided by expert speakers was that schools must be prioritised at every stage of the COVID-19 response.
Whilst many countries have reopened educational facilities, schools in over 20 countries across the world remain closed, and many more have implemented blended learning strategies to mitigate the risks of transmission in school environments. The link between education and public health is clear, and school hygiene and safety are the critical components of this link, more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst there is no zero-risk strategy for the reopening of schools, a lot can be done to make sure they are a safe place to learn.
Today, parliamentarians across the world, including from Senegal, Bangladesh and Canada, joined the briefing and shared with their parliamentary peers the situation facing educational institutions in their country.
For example, Hon. Bimala Rai Paudyal, Federal Parliament of Nepal, commented that schools and universities in Nepal had been closed for eight months. Whilst alternative, remote learning methods have been implemented across the country, these mechanism are exposing significant equity gaps, particularly for rural communities where access to technology for learning is low, and highlighting the integral role of digital literacy in ensuring equitable distance-learning programmes.
Désirée van der Walt, Parliament of South Africa, noted that approximately 1.1 million learners in South Africa are currently undertaking their final exams. Mrs. van der Walt discussed the nature of the outbreak in South Africa with Dr. David Nabarro, complimenting the Ministry for Education for providing effective virus suppression mechanisms and recognising the role of provincial governments in supporting these efforts.
As well as considering the broader impact of COVID-19 on educational equity and learning, parliamentarians were also advised on detailed and practical preparedness techniques for school environments during the pandemic. Mike Lake MP, House of Commons of Canada, spoke with Dr. Baltag on the impact of air conditioning on the spread of the virus, and discussed the importance of risk-minimisation strategies in countries like Canada, where cold winters risk greater transmission rates.
The expert recommendations provided by our speakers throughout the briefing can be watched here, and will be collated in a briefing note sent to IPNEd member parliamentarians. For further information on the briefing or any of IPNEd’s COVID-19 and education work, please contact the Secretariat at info@ipned.org.
