Thank you, Chair.
Thank you for the committee's invitation for my colleague, Jaya Murthy, and me to contribute to this critical and timely study, and for its focus on children in crisis and conflict.
We are proud Canadians and we've each spent the majority of the past 20 years as international civil servants of the United Nations Children's Fund, serving in conflict-affected countries, including Iraq, Gaza, Yemen, Nigeria, Uganda, Somalia and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where we've had the privilege of being part of efforts to support and protect children and their families.
We've seen first-hand how the violent and protracted nature of today's armed conflict has torn families apart, the brutality inflicted on young minds and bodies, and their extreme vulnerability.
One never forgets holding a trembling six-year-old girl so brutally raped that she is rendered incontinent, or the frail body of a severely malnourished infant barely clinging to life, and the anguish of a child whose family was killed for their eyes. One also never forgets the rays of hope on their faces and the profound resilience when provided with access to services and the reassurance that they are being cared for.
War shatters lives, it shatters countries' health and education systems, it damages or destroys vital infrastructure like water and sanitation, and it spurs the flight of essential workers such as doctors.
COVID-19 has exacerbated this plight, triggering an unprecedented global health, humanitarian, socio-economic and human rights crisis with significant interruption in basic services, including essential nutrition services, vaccine-preventable disease campaigns and schooling for learners.
With over 100 million COVID-19 cases and 2.1 million deaths in virtually every country and territory, this pandemic is the biggest challenge of our time, and has had a unique disequalizing effect—more than any other crisis—on nations, states, communities, households and individuals.
It's clear that COVID-19 and all its harmful consequences has made this a global child rights crisis.
For UNICEF, the pandemic has fundamentally altered our responses, adding a new layer of complexity in some of the most difficult and dangerous operating environments. We now need to reach the same populations that are routinely missed with basic services in a context of restricted movement and lockdowns. We are redoubling our efforts with our multitude of partners, local and national authorities, humanitarian and development organizations, civil society, the private sector, local respondents and thousands of community volunteers to support country readiness for COVID-19 vaccines, including strategies to reach all people, especially those in hard-to-reach locations.
It also is for us to enable schools to reopen safely, particularly in poor areas, and reimagine education systems with remote learning that will include children who previously did not have access to a TV, let alone the Internet; to address the growing mental health challenges and risks of violence, exploitation and abuse [Technical difficulty—Editor]; and to reduce discrimination and inequality that are particularly acute for girls and women, as well as people with disabilities.
This is a crisis where we need the international community to come together, from local to global, to support an inclusive response through recovery that prioritizes investments in the world's children. Without increased investments and collaboration, recovery from the impact of this pandemic will be that much harder and slower.
Esteemed committee members, 75 years ago UNICEF was born out of the ashes of World War II, and once again the world is engulfed in crisis, the consequences of which threaten to undermine every measure of progress set out in the global sustainable development goals. This anniversary year, UNICEF is again being called upon to help the world's children, their families and the systems upon which they rely to emerge from crisis.
With crisis comes opportunity—the unique opportunity for Canadian leadership. As proud Canadians who have dedicated our lives to serving vulnerable conflict-affected children and their families around the world, there is nothing we would like to see more and nothing that would make us more proud than if the young rape survivor I held in eastern DRC and countless others whose lots in life have become that much harder due to COVID-19 could benefit from the integrated support they so need and deserve to transform their outcomes in life.
Thank you for this opportunity to address you.