In this joint statement, Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Regional Director East Asia and Pacific and Maalla M'jid, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children express their support for the Joint Statement of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Social Welfare and Development – Mitigating impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups in ASEAN, which highlights the vulnerability of children, the need to reach them with both social protection and social welfare services and the essential role of social workers.
The joint statement "urges the rapid restoration of social welfare for children and families, including child protection and gender-based violence services, while ensuring the safety of front-line workers" and calls for "the protection of the social welfare sector from severe projected reductions in public expenditures, recognizing that the needs for services will increase significantly in the aftermath of the pandemic, especially for the most vulnerable."
The statement also encourages "ASEAN member states to bring together all relevant government sectors, especially Social Welfare, Health, Education, and Finance, along with civil society and the private sector, to examine the impact of COVID-19 on children. We all need to learn lessons in preparation for potential future pandemics, start to 'build back better' and accelerate action to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals."