Thai authorities set up centre to look after children affected by Covid crisis
Four organisations have come together to help children affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Under the scheme, “Care Centre for Children with Covid-19”, four foster homes have been established to look after children whose parents have been infected by the virus.
The scheme was launched by the Department of Children and Youth in cooperation with the Equitable Education Fund (EEF), Child and Adolescent Mental Health Rajanagarindra Institute (CAMRI) and UNICEF Thailand.
Supatcha Suttipol, director-general of the Department of Children and Youth which comes under the jurisdiction of Social Development and Human Security Ministry, said on Friday that more than 65,000 children had been affected by Covid-19 from January to August 4 this year.
“These children have been affected by the Covid-19 crisis either directly or indirectly. Many are either infected, have not been treated, are vulnerable to infections, have lost one or both their parents to the virus, have mental disabilities or have a tendency to fall off the education system. The ‘Care Centre for Children with Covid-19’ was set up to deal with such issues. The centre will look for and deliver help to the affected children. A mobile application will also be set up to find children who have either lost their parents or are at risk of losing their parents to the virus. The operation will cover the entire country in cooperation with as many corporations as possible,” Supatcha said.
“Four foster homes with a capacity of 160 each have been set up to provide temporary accommodation for children, while officials work on finding them a permanent home,” she added.
Cases of children affected by the Covid-19 fallout can be reported to the care centre via the 1300 hotline.
