10:11 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
This pandemic is a children's rights issue too, says Greta Thunberg
The coronavirus pandemic is impacting children's health and standard of living globally, said climate activist and children's rights proponent Greta Thunberg during CNN's coronavirus town hall.
"Children both do get this disease, and they also spread it on to others," she said. "So, we need to be very careful that this misinformation that it doesn't affect children becomes mainstream. We need to make sure that people understand that this also affects children."
Even children who don't get infected can feel the impact of the coronavirus in other ways, she said. For instance, school meals are many children's main source of nutritious food -- meaning school closures pose a food access threat.
"For many people in the world, they do not have access to clean water or sanitation, to soap, and they don't even have a house to stay home in. And it's very hard for many to keep social distancing," said Thunberg.
She donated prize money to support children: Human Act, a Danish worldwide development organization, recently gave Thunberg $100,000 for her global activism, but she is now directing that money to the UN's Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"We have launched a new campaign to help support UNICEF during the Covid-19 pandemic," Thunberg said during the town hall.
"And that is because during any crisis it is always the most vulnerable people who are hit the hardest, and that is children, especially in the global south, people in the poorest parts of the world."
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