Humanitarian groups call for stronger social protection systems amid COVID-19 pandemic

Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/12/18/20201204-quiapo-friday-december-jc-014721560_ios.jpg"/><figcaption>Devotees attend First Friday Mass at the Quiapo Church in Manila on December 04, 2020 following physical distancing protocols. The Mass marks the start of devotional activities leading to the annual ‘Traslacion,’ which is celebrated in January. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNICEF have expressed readiness to support the government in strengthening social protection systems in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>The effects of COVID-19 linger “for much longer,&quot; UNDP representative Selva Ramachandran said in a webinar on the impact of the health crisis in Metro Manila households. </p><p>A joint study by UNICEF and UNDP showed that the impact of the pandemic on monetary poverty was likely far higher than earlier estimated. </p><p>Based on the study&#x27;s in-depth interviews, residents in the capital region suffered severe financial consequences and were engaged in a variety of negative coping strategies such as reducing the portion of their meals, among others. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/12/15/20/109-million-filipinos-lost-jobs-had-lower-incomes-due-to-covid-19-pandemic-ilo">READ: 10.9 million Filipinos lost jobs, had lower incomes due to COVID-19 pandemic: ILO</a></li></ul><p>The respondents also reported that approximately half of children in the sample were subject to physical or emotional violence while many parents reported that children were bored and restless.</p><p>The joint study of the two humanitarian organizations was also in collaboration with the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Education (DepEd).</p><p>Because of this, the study recommended additional social assistance, building a virtual registry to enable more rapid delivery of future assistance, and assessment of the targeting of social amelioration program and assistance from local government units, among others. </p><p>In terms of education, the study recommended providing guidance to parents on how to support their children, promote DepEd TV and other educational programming, and consider “zero rating” educational websites. </p><p>The research also said it is important to work with telecommunication companies to ensure that traffic to the websites would not affect the workload and to make it easier for households to access these sites. <br/> <br/>One of the recommendations of the two organizations was the use of barangay health workers and telehealth services to deliver maternal health services to communities.</p><p>The humanitarian groups also said the government should consider a partial relaxation of lockdown restrictions for young children and to allow them to socialize to help tackle the feelings of restlessness and boredom.</p><p>Metro Manila mayors earlier disallowed minors to go to malls because of the lingering threat of the coronavirus. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/02/20/metro-manila-mayors-still-disallow-minors-outside-of-residence-due-to-covid-19-threat">Metro Manila mayors still disallow minors outside of residence due to COVID-19 threat</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/02/20/doh-still-discouraging-children-from-going-out-says-they-may-get-spread-covid-19">DOH still discouraging children from going out; says they may get, spread COVID-19</a></li></ul><p>The health department has <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/23/20/doh-asks-filipinos-not-to-crowd-shopping-areas-consider-other-options-for-christmas">already slammed</a> mallgoers for crowding during sales, allegedly violating physical distancing measures that risks the transmission of COVID-19. </p><p>Experts, on the other hand, suggested that city parks should be opened even during the lockdown, so parents and their children could spend time on open spaces. There is lower risk of virus transmission in parks and wide recreational spaces, they said. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mAfCQSWssGk?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNICEF have expressed readiness to support the government, stressing the importance of strengthening social protection systems in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.<br /> </p>

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNICEF have expressed readiness to support the government, stressing the importance of strengthening social protection systems in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Humanitarian groups call for stronger social protection systems amid COVID-19 pandemic | ABS-CBN

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Humanitarian groups call for stronger social protection systems amid COVID-19 pandemic

Humanitarian groups call for stronger social protection systems amid COVID-19 pandemic

Willard Cheng,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 18, 2020 06:49 PM PHT

Read More:

United Nations Development Programme

UNDP

UNICEF

COVID-19

humanitarian groups

pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic

malls

social protection systems

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