International Family Day is celebrated every year on May 15. (Representational)
The coronavirus pandemic has brought into sharp focus the need for a safety net for those in the informal sector who lost their source of income and have been forced to join the growing caravan of migrant families leaving for their home states. And rightly so, the theme for this year's International Day of Families is ‘Families in Development', which highlights the importance of investing in social policies that protect our most vulnerable.
The United Nation in its programme notes said: “ It is the families who bear the brunt of the crisis, sheltering their members from harm, caring for out of school children and at the same time continuing their work responsibilities. Families become the hub of intergenerational interactions that support us in crisis.”
May 15 also marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nation's World Sumit for Social Development.
It was at this event in 1995 in Copenhagen that the role of families in development.
“This year's celebration of the International Day of Families reminds us that the goals of Copenhagen are still relevant in the rapidly changing world. World Social Summit, as well as the International Year of the Family and its follow-up processes, have served as catalysts for integrating a family perspective into overall social policymaking,” the UN's department of economic and social affairs said in a statement.