Impacts of health-related school closures on child protection outcomes: A review of evidence from past pandemics and epidemics and lessons learned for COVID-19

. 2021 May 9;84:102431. doi: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102431

Ensuring pregnant adolescents have access to education
The importance of developing a targeted communication strategy was visible in the case of pregnant girls in Sierra Leone, who were banned by the Ministry of Education from attending schools when they were reopened after Ebola. Having learned from its experience during the outbreak (as well as an ECOWAS court decision ruling it discriminatory), Sierra Leone lifted its ban on pregnant girls in March 2020 and has promoted it as a measure that will help ensure girls’ education after the COVID-19 crisis. To ensure that pregnant girls would continue learning, UNICEF developed a ‘bridging programme’ allowing them to come to school after regular hours where they were able to follow the same curriculum offered to the other students. Following international support and advocacy, in São Tomé and Príncipe, a disciplinary act prohibiting pregnant girls in the third month of pregnancy from attending classes or school activities was also overturned this year (Ramos, 2020).

Ensuring pregnant adolescents have access to education

The importance of developing a targeted communication strategy was visible in the case of pregnant girls in Sierra Leone, who were banned by the Ministry of Education from attending schools when they were reopened after Ebola. Having learned from its experience during the outbreak (as well as an ECOWAS court decision ruling it discriminatory), Sierra Leone lifted its ban on pregnant girls in March 2020 and has promoted it as a measure that will help ensure girls’ education after the COVID-19 crisis. To ensure that pregnant girls would continue learning, UNICEF developed a ‘bridging programme’ allowing them to come to school after regular hours where they were able to follow the same curriculum offered to the other students. Following international support and advocacy, in São Tomé and Príncipe, a disciplinary act prohibiting pregnant girls in the third month of pregnancy from attending classes or school activities was also overturned this year (Ramos, 2020).