Rapid assessment of the situation of children and their families with a focus on the vulnerable ones in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak in Romania

About

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic also affecting Romania, the population is confronted with a number of economic and social issues caused by the shrinking of the private and public sectors’ operations and the reorganisation of health, social and educational services. Under these circumstances, the vulnerabilities of children, families and communities may exacerbate any pre-existing risks – limited access to social services, health care services, inequalities in access to education, poverty.

The Rapid Assessment (RA) of the situation of children and their families, with a focus on vulnerable groups, in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak in Romania, is undertaken as a partnership between UNICEF, Step-by-Step Centre for Education and Professional Development, Terre des hommes Romania, Centre for Health Policies and Services, the Council of Institutionalised Youth, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Jesuit Refugee Service Romania (JRS Romania), the National Romanian Council for Refugees (RNCR) and Star of Hope Romania. The World Bank and World Health Organisation provided technical input to the concept note and the initial data collection instrument.

The objective is to assess the situation of children and their families, with a focus on the vulnerable ones, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to enable UNICEF and other relevant stakeholders to design informed prevention and response actions that address the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, with a view to minimising the human consequences of the pandemic.