Adolescents’ experiences of covid-19 in Chittagong and Sylhet divisions, Bangladesh

Abstract

This study is part of a cross-country series designed to share emerging findings in real time from qualitative interviews with adolescents and school teachers in the context of covid-19. The young people involved are part of the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme, which is conducting longitudinal research in the Middle East, East Africa and South Asia. Our sample for this study was purposefully selected from an ongoing baseline GAGE impact evaluation study, and includes two cohorts: younger adolescents (10–14 years) and older adolescents (15–19 years), all of whom are in-school (grades 7 and 8). Adolescent respondents were drawn from both urban and rural schools in Chittagong and Sylhet divisions of Bangladesh (see Annex 1 for further details). The objectives of the research are as follows: • To understand adolescents’ experiences of transition from childhood to adulthood, and to identify differences in their experiences by age, gender, disability and geographic location. • To identify adolescents’ knowledge of covid-19, and how the pandemic response has affected adolescent lives across the following domains: Young adolescent girls in Chittagong, Bangladesh © Nathalie Bertrams / GAGE 2 » education and remote learning » incomes and livelihoods » nutrition, health and hygiene » psychosocial well-being and coping » voice and agency related to adolescents’ mobility. To inform the pandemic response, this study aims to understand adolescents’ knowledge, perceptions and practices during the covid-19 pandemic, their challenges and worries, and the coping mechanisms they are using to deal with the evolving situation. We explore the impact of covid-19 on the realities and experiences of in-school adolescents in Chittagong and Sylhet who have found themselves out of school since March 2020 until the present, to prevent the spread of the virus. The report also explores the impacts on adolescents in terms of gender and the vulnerability status of the household.