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Statement On COVID 19 And Youth

Maureen Amuhinda

Statement On COVID 19 And Youth

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We are excited to announce that 50 UN entities and 168 youth entities including The Youth Cafe have signed the UN IANYD statement on COVID 19 and Youth. UN MGCY played a role in helping to coordinate the process of writing this statement and is also a signatory.

Read full article Statement on COVID 19 and Youth.

 Introduction 

The unprecedented global health crisis we are facing is affecting all parts of society and changing lives and livelihoods. In all types of crises and times of need, from climate change to armed conflict or political unrest, young people and youth-led organizations have been quick to take action and respond to the needs of others. The same is happening now during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While attention is currently focused on those most immediately affected by the virus, there are many indications the COVID-19 pandemic will have long-lasting social, cultural, economic, political and multidimensional impacts on the whole of societies, including on young people, as highlighted by the Secretary General’s Report “Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity” (March 2020).  

Call to Action 

The United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (UN IANYD) is committed to goals enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the World Programme of Action for Youth and the UN Youth Strategy. Respect for all human rights - including economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights - is fundamental to the success of public health responses and recovery from the pandemic.

This is why members of the UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (UN IANYD) call for:

  1. Partnering, safely and effectively, with young people during and after the COVID-19 crisis,

  2. Recognition of young people’s own actions and their potential to advance the fight against the pandemic, and

  3. Understanding the specific impacts the pandemic has and will have on young people while ensuring that COVID-19 related responses uphold young people’s human rights and are inclusive of young people’s specific needs.

Young People’s Actions

In increasing numbers, young people are proactively combating the spread of the virus and working to mitigate and address the pandemic’s impacts. For example, young people are already:

  • Supporting others: Young people are helping promote WHO guidelines and addressing the COVID-19-related needs of the most vulnerable in their communities, including persons with disabilities, older persons, migrants, refugees and those living in slums and informal settlements. Across the world, young people are volunteering to safely help seniors and other at-risk groups to access supplies, such as food and medication.

  • Addressing the economic and food security impact of the crisis: Young workers, including young farmers and rural entrepreneurs, are innovating and using various technologies and communication tools to develop local solutions. Such work is critical to maintain supply chains and build alternate, more resilient, and inclusive economies, which are vital to ensure access to an adequate food supply for the population. 

Young women and men are part of the solution, actively contributing to efforts to reduce the spread of the virus and mitigate the pandemic’s impact. Young people, as torchbearers of our sustainable development, are advocating environmental action to drive transformative change, at scale, to leave no one behind.

Engaging with Young People During and After the Pandemic

When developing initiatives to support young people’s efforts to safely and effectively act as agents of change in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of important elements need to be taken into consideration, including:  

  • Inclusion and Participation: Efforts to mitigate the short and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic require an unprecedented level of collaboration. Young people should be able to actively participate in shaping responses and need to be meaningfully included in all aspects and phases of the response.  

  • Duty of care: When collaborating to fight COVID-19, adequate caution and prudence is required to ensure that young people, particularly young women and girls, are not exposed to unnecessary dangers related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Long-term commitment: While a large portion of the world’s resources will need to be redirected toward the fight against the virus and the post-pandemic recovery, youth development should remain a top priority. For the world to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in a sustainable and equitable manner, young people need to be supported to reach their full potential and thrive. 

Efforts to stop the spread of the virus and to rebuild in a sustainable and equitable manner must meaningfully include young people and support their unique contribution. However, this cannot be done at the cost of young people’s own development or without including the most vulnerable.

Impact on Young People 

While young people are already taking action to stop the spread of the disease and mitigate the repercussions of the pandemic, it is critical to recognize the multiple and diverse impacts the COVID-19 pandemic already has and will have on young people and their human rights. These include, among many others:

  • Right to health: Limited access to health insurance coverage, especially in low- and middle-income countries without Universal Health Coverage, reduces young people’s opportunities to access appropriate and timely health care and services should they become sick. Furthermore, with the observed disruption of health services, young people who need essential, time-sensitive and life-saving medication and services may risk not being able to access them, thereby increasing the likelihood of developing complications when infected.

Efforts to mitigate and address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic must include provisions that are responsive to young people’s needs and uphold their rights, or youth-specific provisions when needed. More decent jobs are part of the solutions to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis in order to reduce poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition simultaneously.


Are you interested to learn more on COVID-19 topics? The Youth Cafe has compiled a series of articles that give youth insights on COVID-19 myth, impact, and how to protect youths during the season. To explore more, visit our COVID-19 and Youths Page.