COVID19 Emergency Appeal
When the street is your home, how do you keep safe from the pandemic?
How does Coronavirus pandemic affect street children?
We are all preparing for weeks and months of uncertainty due to Coronavirus. Street children are particularly hard hit by this pandemic.
- Many street children have no access to clean water, healthcare and shelter.
- On the streets, they are at risk of contracting the virus, and because of underlying poor health conditions, are at higher risk of developing complications.
- Street children face discrimination and cruelty from communities who fear the virus, and from those who are supposed to protect them – police and other authorities.
They need health services, but also information they can understand about how to keep safe.
What does CSC do to help?
The Consortium for Street Children supports organisations all around the world who work directly with street children who need protection, shelter and access to health services. these organisations need help with advocating for these children in the times of crisis — to make sure they are included in all the emergency work that is going into corona virus. It’s a huge task.
We support our network members on the frontline. They tell us that that some of their street-based and drop-in services for street children are being either overwhelmed with demand, or closed down because of lockdown and curfews enforced at night.
Street children need help now
Closure of schools and residential services has forced even more children to the street – at greater risk of harm. They urgently need shelter, nutrition and washing facilities in order to survive this pandemic.
Our members are urgently in need of practical support.
They also need help to speak up for street children, who are being excluded from initiatives to reduce the spread of the virus, such as:
- screening,
- hand washing facilities and
- a safe environment to self-isolate.
As competition for health services increases, street children will suffer even more.
What we do
This is where the Consortium for Street Children comes in.
- We are working with funders to make sure that street children are included in Coronavirus response.
- We are working with our network members to remind governments that when they place communities on lockdown or ask people to isolate in their homes, that they must find ways to protect street children without discriminating against them or placing them under arrest.
We need to make sure that street children are looked after in times of Coronavirus
How you can help
During this time of increased risk and uncertainty for street children, your support is more crucial than ever. Please donate now to help keep children safe while on the streets.