The impact of the Ebola epidemics on children’s rights: a scoping review

Figures & data

Figure 1. Detailed search and selection strategy (PRISMA Chart).

Table 1. Information found in the reviewed articles related to the specific clusters of rights established by the committee on the rights of the child, used as guidelines for the treaty-specific periodic reports to be submitted by UNCRC States parties (as established by the Art. 44, paragraph 1 (b), UNCRC)

Clusters of Rights	Contents	In the context of Ebola outbreaks (according to the reviewed articles)
Civil rights and freedoms	Birth registration (Art. 7)
	Right to identity (Art. 8)
	Freedoms of expression (Art. 13), of thought, conscience, and religion (Art. 14), of association (Art. 15)
	Right to privacy (Art. 16)	Lack of privacy [64].
	Right to find information from a variety of media sources (Art. 17)	Difficult access to information; [55,64–67,75] Delayed development of correct and consistent messaging about infant feeding and nutrition programming [20].
Violence against children	Protection from violence, abuse and neglect (Art. 19)	Increased abuse of boys and girls [56,57,64].
	Protection from all forms of harmful practices. Including FGM, early and forced marriages (Art. 24, para. 3)	General increase in violence on girls (rape, early and/or forced marriage, teenage pregnancy, prostitution); [12, 21–24, 55, 56, 58, 64, 65, 67, 68] Temporary decrease in FGM [55,64].
	Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (Art. 34)	Increase in recorded cases of sexual penetration of a minor and domestic violence [68].
	Protection from cruel treatment (Art. 37)
	Support in recovery from trauma and reintegration (Art. 39)	Challenges in finding a safe environment for EVD children survivors, often unaccompanied and/or orphans; [25,26] Disruption of medical and justice services for survivors of Sexual and Gender based Violence (SGBV) [68].
Family environment and alternative care	Parental guidance (Art.5)
	Separation from parents (Art.9)	Orphans (Data, protection and care). [12,24,26–28,55,57,59,65,69,70]
	Family reunification (Art. 10)	Increase in family separation [64,75].
	Parental and state responsibilities (Art. 18)
	Provide alternative care (Art. 20)
	Adoption (Art. 21)
	Regular reviews of treatment and situation of children receiving healthcare away from home (Art. 25)	Challenges in the provision of care to unaccompanied children EVD suspected/confirmed [25,29].
	Protection from abduction, sale and trafficking (Art. 11, 35)
Disability, Basic Health and Welfare	Right to the best possible health and to healthcare (Art. 24)	Disrupted health service access; [27,30–38,57] except for some rural districts less affected by Ebola, utilization of primary care remained robust despite the outbreak; [39] Unavailability of medication; [30,65] Worsening of children and maternal health care quality; [26,31,33,35–37,40–43,55,65] Lack of child-centered health services; [25,27,30,40] High EVD mortality rate, especially in very young children (<12 months of age); [25,30] Exacerbation in overall infant, child and maternal mortality (specifically in teenage girls); [25,26,30,35,42,43,55,57,64] Worsening of common diseases’ management; [27,28,34,40,44,45,55,64,65,75] Increased risk of malnutrition and undernutrition; [55,57,65,75] Decline in health facility and community malnutrition screening programmes [46]. Stop of school feeding programmes; [57] Serious psychological impacts; [22,26,55,64,65,75] Failure in immunization services; [26,27,32,34,35,40,41,47–50,55,57,65,75] Disrupted SRH and family planning services [35,56,58,64].
	Rights, protection and support to children with disabilities (Art. 23)
	Protection from drug abuse (Art. 33)
	Right to social security (Art. 26)	Lack of assistance, misallocation of aid; [65] Erosion of safety nets and government and NGO services [21,55,64,65].
	Right to adequate and decent standard of living (Art. 27)	Worsening of poverty; [27,28,55,59,64,65,75] Increases in economic and social vulnerability [26].
Education, Leisure and Cultural activities	Right to education (Art. 28)	School closure and challenges in alternative learning; [24,55,57,64–66] Difficulties in school reopening and in students’ reenrollment [21,22,27,55,64,67].
	Education role in children’s development, the aims of education with reference also to its quality (Art. 29)	Importance of school roles and meaning in the context of an epidemic/emergency; [56,57,65,67] Insufficient level of teachers, instructors and infrastructure preparedness; [22,51] Worsening of students’ performances and grades, loss or postponement of exams [55,66].
	Cultural rights of children belonging to indigenous and minority groups (Art. 30)
	Right to relax, play, take part in cultural and artistic activities (Art. 31)	Negative impact of social/physical distancing measures (isolation, changing in playing habits, culture and behaviours). [55,64–66]
Special protection and support measures for each of the following groups	Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, internally displaced children, migrant children and children affected by migration (Art. 22)
	Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group (Art. 30)
	Children in street situations	Increase number of children living in the street [70].
	Children in situation of exploitation, child labour (Art. 32)	Increase of children’s domestic responsibility, exploitation and child labour [22,55,57,64,65].
	Children in detention (Art. 37) and Juvenile justice (Art. 40)	Higher risk for boys to come into conflict with the law; [55] Inadequacy of legal system’s responses in addressing cases of SGBV [24].
	Children in armed conflict (Art. 38)	Increase in child recruitment in military operation in North Kivu [12].

Table 2. Information found in the reviewed articles related to the four general principles included in the UNCRC, meant to help with the interpretation of the convention as a whole and thereby guide national programmes of implementation

General principles	Contents	In the context of Ebola outbreaks (according to the reviewed articles)
Non-discrimination (Art. 2)	Prevent discrimination and ensure that children in disadvantaged situations are able to enjoy and exercise their rights.	Profiles of children that are the most discriminated against: EVD survivors and their relatives; [12,24,26,27,40,55,64–66,69,70,75] Children from quarantined household and/or with relatives affected by EVD; [26] EVD orphans; [12,26] Pregnant girls and women [26,35,43,52,56].
		Areas of discrimination: Access to basic needs, such as water, food, shelters; [27,40,46,55,64,65] Access to school and educational programs; [21,22,27,28,55,58,64–67,75] Social exclusion and stigmatization; [12,27,59,66,69,70,75] Deprivation of a family environment; [12,27,28,59,65,69,70,75] Exploitation, abuse and children labor; [12,23,55,56,64–67,70,75] Exacerbation of gender inequalities, women and girls were among the most vulnerable. [21–23,56]
Best interests of the child (Art.3)	‘In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.’	Lower level of child protection [55,65,75].
The right to life, survival and development (Art. 6)	‘ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.’ Particular attention should be taken to: death registration and extrajudicial killings of children, prevention of child suicide and eradication of infanticide, no capital punishment for persons under 18 years.	Shutdown of development opportunities; [55,58] Lack of death registration [32,42,53].
Respect for children’s views (Art. 12)	Right of the child to be heard, ‘in any in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.’	Children views and opinion not taken into account [55,64].

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