Body formed to strengthen post-coronavirus child rights

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has appointed a working group to strengthen the rights of the child and the wellbeing of children and families in the aftermath of the coronavirus epidemic, said an official press release on Tuesday.

The information gathered by the working group will be used in the preparation of the National Child Strategy to assess the realisation of the rights of the child during the state of emergency.

“In addition to posing an immediate threat to public health, coronavirus has long-term social impacts. As regards children, there are concerns that the epidemic and its effects will increase inequality and social exclusion among them. It is therefore essential that, as part of the preparation of the National Child Strategy, measures will be taken to examine the effects of coronavirus and to seek solutions to dealing with the aftermath of the epidemic,” said Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru.

The working group will first draw conclusions about how the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus epidemic have affected the situation of children and families and the realisation of the rights of the child.

The first written summary of conclusions will be submitted to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in early June.

The working group will consider how to reduce the challenges posed by the emergency conditions and to build a more child- and family-friendly society showing more respect for children’s rights in the aftermath of the coronavirus epidemic. The aim is to look to the future and to safeguard the rights of children and the wellbeing of families as the restrictions are lifted. At the same time, attention must be paid to the significance of providing sufficient information to children themselves.

Chaired by Esa Iivonen from the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, the members of the working group are Eija Koivuranta (Family Federation of Finland), Tapio Laakso (Save the Children Finland), Johanna Lammi-Taskula (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare), Kirsi Pollari (Central Union for Child Welfare) and Tiina Ristikari (Itla Children’s Foundation).

The term of the working group runs until the end of October 2020.