In the bid to control the spread of C-19 cases in Uganda, the government took measures by closing all learning institutions and restricting people’s movement’s country wide.
However, the United Nations through their spokesperson James Elder for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), insisted that schools closed due to Covid-19 pandemic should be reopened as soon as possible.
“This cannot go on,” James Elder, spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), told reporters in Geneva.
While acknowledging the difficult choices that governments have to make when facing the Covid-19 crisis and the possible spread of the disease, “schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen,” he said, calling it a “terrible mistake” to reopen bars and pubs before schools.
“Reopening schools cannot wait for all teachers and students to be vaccinated,” he added, calling on governments to protect their education budgets despite the economic hardship caused by corona virus pandemic.
In eastern and southern Africa, an estimated 40 percent of school-age children are currently out of school, more than 32 million children estimated to be out of school due to pandemic-related closures.
.
In South America and the Caribbean, there are 18 countries and territories where schools are either closed or partially closed, Elder said.
Around the world, “education, safety, friends and food have been replaced by anxiety, violence, and teenage pregnancy”, he said.
In Uganda, there was a more than 20 percent increase in pregnancy among 10 to 24-year-olds since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic early last year.
So far, the Covid-19 control measures imposed by the government have greatly increased cases of child labour in the peri-urban areas.
In major districts, Mukono in particular, children aged between six to fifteen years are pouring into major trading centers to get involved in vending merchandise in order to support their families.
Children are mostly seen in the towns of Kalagi, Kisoga, Nakifuma, Katosi, Seeta and Mukono town.
Children between the ages of six to fifteen years are pouring into major trading centers to get involved in vending merchandise in order to support their families.
Children are mostly seen in the towns of Kalagi, Kisoga, Nakifuma, Katosi, Seeta and Mukono town.
Many leaders and politicians like Joseph Kabuleta have been persistent in calling for government to lift the lockdown saying it has affected all facets of life.
President Museveni is expected to address the country on Saturday to communicate the way forward after the end of the 42 days of lockdown.