The estimated number of children who have lost a parent or caregiver as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has increased to more than 5.2 million worldwide. The warning comes from a large study published in the scientific journal Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
Estimates of the number of children affected by the death of a parent and guardian nearly doubled in the six months from May 1, 2021 to October 31, 2021, compared with the rate after the first 14 months of the pandemic (October 1, 2021). March 2020 to April 30, 2021).
Globally, the new study suggests that two out of three impacted children are children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 years. Furthermore, according to evidence that deaths from the disease disproportionately affect men, three out of four children worldwide who have suffered the death of a caregiver during the pandemic have lost their father.
In general, children who grieve the loss of a caregiver are at increased risk of poverty, exploitation and sexual violence or abuse, HIV infection, mental health challenges and severe suffering, and, in some contexts, greater vulnerability to gang involvement and violent extremism, the study warns.
Analysis highlights
Before the pandemic, there were around 140 million orphaned children around the world. The impact of Covid-19 on orphanhood was first revealed in a study published in July 2021, which estimated that 1.5 million children suffered the death of a parent or caregiver between March 2020 and April 2021 as a result. of the disease.
The new study increases that estimate to more than 2.7 million children over the same period, recalculating data from updated Covid-19 death numbers along with excess mortality information to explain the indirect deaths associated with the pandemic.
While the July 2021 estimates considered 1,562,000 children affected, the most recent estimate 2,737,300 children. “Unfortunately, as high as our estimates of orphanage and caregiver deaths are, they are likely to be underreported, these numbers are expected to grow as more global data on Covid-19 deaths becomes available,” said researcher Juliette Unwin of the Imperial College, London, in a statement.
Using the same methodology, the researchers extended the analysis to October 31, 2021, analyzing mortality and fertility data from 20 countries that accounted for the highest proportion of Covid-19 deaths, including Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, England, France, Germany, India, South Africa, Spain, the United States, among other nations.
As previously performed, the team estimated the loss of caring grandparents using United Nations (UN) family composition data for the proportion of adults over 60 who lived in the same household as those under 18, with or without a parent. . These proportions were multiplied by the deaths associated with Covid-19 in the relevant age group to estimate the number of children affected.
The team estimates that, over the entire 20-month period of the study, a minimum of 3,367,000 children suffered the loss of a parent. Another 1,833,300 children were affected by the death of a grandparent or elderly caregiver who lived in the same home.
The number of children affected in the 20 countries studied ranged from 2,400 in Germany to over 1.9 million in India. Calculations of estimated cases of loss of a parent per capita showed that the highest rates occurred in Peru and South Africa, with 8 and 7 per 1,000 children affected, respectively.
“It took 10 years for 5 million children to be orphaned by HIV and AIDS, while the same number of children were orphaned by Covid-19 in just two years. These numbers do not take into account the latest wave of the Ômicron variant, which could further increase the actual number. We need to act quickly to identify the children behind these numbers so they can receive the support they need to thrive,” says Lorraine Sherr, from University College London, UK.
In every country, children were more likely to lose their father than their mother, with more than three times as many children suffering the death of their father than their mother.
The researchers also calculated the ages of children who lost a parent in each of the countries studied. Adolescents accounted for a much larger proportion of those affected (ages 10-17 accounted for 63.6%) than younger children in all countries.
Immediate actions
The researchers emphasize the need to incorporate orphaned children into social programs, including support for economic, community and family empowerment and measures that avoid placing children in institutional care.
“We estimate that for every person who has died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, a child is orphaned or lost a caregiver. That’s the equivalent of one child every six seconds facing an increased risk of lifelong adversity unless they receive adequate timely support.” of Diseases (CDC) of the United States.
Source: CNN Brasil
