11 October is the International Day of the Girl.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious consequences for children worldwide, but especially for girls. School closures put girls at risk to not only lose out on education temporarily, but to drop out entirely, removing the opportunity for them to determine their own future. At the same time, the protection mechanisms which work in school are no longer in place. LWF country programs in the past months have noted an increase in sexual and gender-based violence, early marriage and teen pregnancies which will likely become worse.