COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis: Strengthening Caregiving Environments - Prioritising Family- Based Care in Humanitarian Settings During COVID-19

From April 2020 to December 2021, the COVID-19 mapping team published the COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis series as a periodic digest of COVID-19 related resources (guidance, news, and academic articles), with the purpose to identify emerging child protection risks, responses, and apparent resource gaps. Each evidence synthesis analyses a different topic related to child protection during COVID-19. 

The purpose of this evidence synthesis is to analyse the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health measures to contain it are threatening caregiving environments. Children are at risk of separation from their families due to COVID-19 related illness, and death of a parent or a caregiver. They are also at risk of separation as a result of secondary impacts of the pandemic, such as job loss, school closures, restrictions to movement, and social isolation. The secondary impacts emanating from the pandemic can exacerbate protection risks, such as domestic abuse, family conflicts, rising poverty, and family stress. These, in turn, can lead to family separation and/or violence. Therefore, this brief focuses on strategies to strengthen the caregiving environment through family-and community-based approaches. It also offers a series of case studies from various humanitarian and emergency contexts.

Find the full set of resources and articles on key CPMS Standards and topics around child protection and COVID-19 in the COVID-19 Resource Tracker.