I want to start by recognising two important changes at Save the Children UK
First, the appointment of our new Chair of our Board. Tsitsi Chawatama, a consultant paediatrician working in the National Health Service, has just been appointed to the role. Like the NHS, Save the Children is a values-led, mission-driven organisation – and we will benefit enormously from Tsitsi’s personal and professional experience. You can watch an interview Tsitsi did in her first week with us here.
Second, we have just completed the recruitment of a Youth Advisory Board. The Board will be part of our governance structure, acting not just as a catalyst for ideas but as a source of accountability. We had originally intended to recruit eight members, but the shortlist of candidates was so exceptional that we recruited ten young people. As I’ve discovered repeatedly in this role, there is just no point in us adults trying to match the insight, eloquence, and vision that children bring to their causes. That’s why I want to see Save the Children becoming more of a platform for children seeking to change the world – and the Youth Advisory Board will play a key role in making that happen.
Reading reports from our country offices I get constant reminders of how the crisis triggered by Covid-19 is magnifying threats to children
At the request of the government in Malawi we recently despatched our Emergency Health Unit to the country. As with other countries in the region, the health system in Malawi is buckling under the strain of the coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa, undermining child and maternal healthcare in the process. In education, colleagues in the field report that schools are re-opening, but with levels of attendance 20-30% down on the pre-Covid situation. In the Horn of Africa, Covid-19 has compounded the difficulties in our response to drought, floods, and the locust swarm. Many of our country offices are reporting a steep increase in child malnutrition – and we recently produced a report on this which may be of interest.
There is a lot of vaccine-induced talk these days of the light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel. After just over a year of pandemic, we need a sense of optimism – and the development of vaccines is an extraordinary testament to the power of science. However, we really need to see rich countries (i) transfer more of their surplus vaccines to poor countries and (ii) fully finance the Covax facility for provision in countries at risk of being left behind. Baroness Sugg makes an important case here that just transferring our liability for excess vaccine doses to developing countries isn’t good enough. These are issues at the forefront of our advocacy agenda.
Another priority that has received much less attention is medical oxygen
Having a light at the end of the tunnel is a great thing because it creates a sense of hope. But (and apologies for stretching the metaphor) you have to stay alive and healthy during the journey through the tunnel. Medical oxygen is the primary essential medicine for Covid-19 treatment – and that medicine is in chronically short supply across a growing number of countries. In recent weeks I have received emails from doctors in major hospitals in Africa highlighting desperate shortages of oxygen. To make matters worse, demand from Covid isolation wards is diverting oxygen from child and maternal healthcare services. That matters because oxygen is a vital medicine for killer childhood diseases like pneumonia, malaria, and sepsis, as well as Covid-19.
We urgently need an emergency oxygen plan to address this crisis. In all honesty, that plan should have been in place weeks ago, but as the second and third waves of Covid-19 spread in developing countries, the time for prevarication is over. We have been working closely with colleagues in the UN and the World Bank to address the crisis, and I’m delighted that a plan of action will be adopted shortly as part of the ACT-A architecture.
Closer to home, the UK will be hosting two major summits this year
The G7 summit provides an opportunity to adopt the bold financing strategies that could help prevent a major reversal of progress in areas like child survival, nutrition, and education. The G7 could also set the scene for a successful climate summit towards the end of the year, especially if it signals a commitment to using Covid-19 recovery financing to decarbonise growth and advance climate justice. Given the global leadership role the UK could play in these summits, the decision to cut aid looks more short-sighted and self-defeating by the day!
We are now working with a coalition of around 60 organisations spanning development, conservation, and the environment to campaign around an agenda linking the two summits and #CracktheCrises. If you’re feeling glum about the prospects for a successful outcome, watch the launch video and take solace in the fact that the organisations behind it represent over 10 million people.
Sometimes in our work you need a reminder that change really is possible
In January, we directly supported over 1,300 children with vouchers and learning packs. That’s down to the generosity of our supporters. Meanwhile, the UK government is considering cuts to a £20/week provision introduced to support poor families at the beginning of the lockdown. We are expecting a final decision from the UK government at the March 3rd Spring budget, and have been campaigning with a group of parents and cross-party MPs to prevent that outcome. Another of our campaigners challenged in the High Court provisions requiring parents in receipt of childcare support to meet the costs of care up-front and then reclaim their spending – a seemingly technical provision that has consigned many families to debt and obstructed access to childcare. The High Court ruled that the policy was unfair, harmful, and poorly designed – and it will now be revoked.
That small triumph for the rule of law and common sense also serves as a reminder of some of the challenges that lie ahead. As the economic crisis triggered by Covid-19 plays out, there is a real danger that governments will pass the burden of adjustment on to constituencies lacking a voice. That is already happening through the scarring effects of malnutrition and lost opportunities for education. For those of us who believe in child rights and universal rights more widely, this is a time to stand up, campaign, advocate, develop evidence-based propositions, and demonstrate that human solidarity can make a difference.
