Srinagar
A New Delhi based Indian non-governmental organization working on children’s rights has said that seventy-seven percent children below five years of age could not have access to basic services like immunisation during the ongoing lockdown in occupied Kashmir.
The NGO Child Rights and You, commonly abbreviated as CRY in a statement in New Delhi citing a study said, “’Rapid Online Perception Study about the Effects of COVID-19 on Children’ was conducted during the first and second phases of the lockdown based on responses of parents and primary caregivers in Jammu and Kashmir.” It said a total of 387 respondents from Jammu and Kashmir participated in the study.
“Seventy-seven percent children of age 0-5 years were not able to access basic healthcare services such as immunisation during lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir,” Child Rights and You (CRY) said.
It said as immunisation programmes witnessed a major setback during the lockdown across India. “Worryingly, the figure was considerably high in Jammu and Kashmir with 77.14 percent children below five years unable to get immunisation services,” it added.
According to the study, in Jammu and Kashmir, nearly 35 percent of the respondents said their children did not receive medical help during the lockdown, resulting in difficulties to cope with their children’s illnesses and health hazards.—KMS
