Economic poverty is one of the key drivers of child protection risks. In order to meet basic needs, very poor households may be forced to resort to negative/harmful coping strategies, to reduce household expenditures (ex: school drop out, child marriage) and increase household income (child labor, sexual exploitation or forced recruitment). Covid-19 is further exacerbating economic vulnerability and associated risks by preventing individuals from generating income (due to lockdown or quarantine), increasing debt at household level, depleting their assets, and/or incapacitating income generators.
This resource from Save the Children answers the questions: (1) Why should we consider integrating CVA and CP during COVID-19?; (2) What type of CVA & CP programming can be done during COVID-19?; and (3) How can we integrate CVA & CP? It includes guidance on integrating CVA and CP programming for Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC), providing parenting and psychosocial support, and consideration of unintended negative consequences of distributing cash to child protection cases (e.g. encouraging family separation if targeting foster families), among other recommendations.
