Thank you to the House of Commons for inviting the International Rescue Committee to testify today and for convening this meeting.
We are proud to join the other five organizations testifying, and call attention to the need for a comprehensive agenda for children, particularly those living in humanitarian contexts. We all know that this moment, as we collectively live through an unprecedented global pandemic, is having particular and troubling impacts on children. We have seen the impacts first-hand on our children. We have had to home-school while being concerned about our own livelihoods. We have worried about children we know getting sick or experiencing anxiety. We worry about what effect this time will have on their futures.
In the 40 countries where the IRC works, COVID-19 did not create these types of challenges. It only deepened them. Children living in conflicts and crisis have always dealt with school closures and the burden, stress and trauma of living in uncertainty. Children who have been displaced do not even have the comfort of a home. COVID-19 and the containment measures have layered risk upon risk for these children: learning loss, poor nutrition, school dropout, extreme poverty, social isolation, mental health consequences and drastic increases in the risk of violence within and outside their homes. All of this is happening while it is more difficult for organizations like the IRC to deliver services or identify children who need our assistance.
Child protection professionals who rely on educators and communities to recognize signs of violence against children are finding that traditional entry points to services and support are disrupted, making it harder to identify children in need and reach them with life-saving services.
Even as schools reopen, UNESCO warns that 24 million children and youth may not return to the classroom. These losses are personal—because each child deserves an opportunity for a future—as well as collective. The World Bank estimates that learning losses due to COVID could add up to $10 trillion U.S.
Girls, already up to 90% more likely not to attend school than their male counterparts in conflict settings, are at particular risk not to return, due to persistent gender inequality.
Children of all ages face particular risks. The early years are vital for brain development and setting children on a path to success in primary schools. They are foundational to productivity and well-being. Adolescence is another critical stage for brain development as children prepare for adulthood, yet in South Sudan, adolescent girls are three times more likely to die in childbirth than to complete their education.
Despite all this knowledge, there is limited actual commitment to prioritize and fund protective services. Child protection services made up only 1.4% of total funding received in 19 humanitarian responses in 2019. The Moving Minds Alliance found that early child development funding in crisis-affected countries represented only 2% of the share of humanitarian aid in 2018. This was before COVID increased competing priorities.
The University of Virginia and Sesame Workshop found that the most drastically under-represented areas of the COVID-19 global humanitarian response plan appeals included children's safety, security, responsive caregiving and early learning.
Canada, as a leader in the humanitarian sector, can and should strengthen the inclusion of holistic services for children and families in both standing humanitarian crises and crises deepened by the impact of COVID. This means translating what we know about the importance of interventions during childhood into policy priorities and increased investments. We echo our colleagues' calls to achieve the increase in ODA to which Canada has committed.
We recommend increasing the share of funding for child protection, so responses can prioritize protection from abuse and violence in and out of the home and support child development and well-being. These interventions must start in pregnancy and continue throughout the life cycle for children and youth.
We support and call on Canada to support the global learning together six-point plan of action and emphasize particularly mental health and well-being for children, caregivers and teachers; addressing how gender inequality impacts education; and particularly during COVID, lessening the digital divide and creating flexible alternatives that can allow children to safely interact with peers and learn.
Immediate and long-term opportunities exist for Canada to show leadership for children. These include adequately funding and maximizing the work of the refugee education campaign that is soon to be launched, and using G7 meetings and Global Partnership for Education replenishment as opportunities to demonstrate Canada's commitment to leadership to support children in humanitarian contexts.
The truth is that children cannot wait. Each day without increased action means more young girls married, more boys leaving school for work and isolated children facing violence alone. Each week without mental health services increases the stress on children and parents. Each month out of school increases the likelihood of lost economic opportunities in the future.
Once more, the IRC commends the House of Commons on holding this meeting and its commitment to strong, actionable solutions for children. We stand by ready to partner in and support the future direction.
Thank you very much.