“How do you think we can respect the distancing measures in practice? We live in groups, we eat in groups, we sleep in groups, and we work in groups.” Those are the words of one participant in our recently published study in which we give voice to Bissau-Guinean Quaran schoolboys (almudos/talibés) in the early phase of the COVID pandemic in Guinea-Bissau. In short, the boys suffered from decreased alms resulting in hunger. Yet, the hardship was only one additional burden to these boys, who are used to facing challenges whilst begging to complete their religious education.
For further information, see the full paper in open access here: BMJ Paediatrics Open Dec 2021, 5 (1) e001303; https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001303 <https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001303>
The paper is part of the BMJPO special collection of Young Voices in the Time of COVID-19, launched in collaboration with ISSOP – International Society for Social Pediatrics and Child Health.
Regards,
Geir Gunnlaugsson
Tjarnargötu 16
IS-101 Reykjavik
Ísland
tel. +354-843 6237
https://www.hi.is/starfsfolk/geirgunnlaugsson
CHIFA profile: Geir Gunnlaugsson is Professor of Global Health at the University of Iceland. He graduated with a medical diploma (MD) from this university with post-graduate training in paediatrics (PhD) and public health (MPH) at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Research and publications on, e.g., breastfeeding, infant and child mortality, child development and abuse, measles, cholera, and health systems in Iceland, Guinea-Bissau and Malawi. He was the General Secretary of ISSOP International Society for Social Pediatrics and Child Health in 2009-2017, and currently chairman of Africa 20:20 an Icelandic NGO to promote interest and knowledge on sub-Saharan Africa.
