In the first two years of pandemic 40,830 children and adolescents lost their mothers to Covid-19 in Brazil.
The data is from a study unprecedented conducted by researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). The findings were released by the Observatório de Saúde na Infância (Observa Infância) and published in the journal Archives of Public Health, by Springer Nature.
In this context, experts advocate the urgent adoption of public policies to protect children with the aim of reducing the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the lives of Brazilian children and adolescents.
“Considering the health and economic crisis in the country, with the return of hunger, the increase in food insecurity, the growth of unemployment, the intensification of precarious work and the growing queue to enter social programs, it is urgent to mobilize the society for the protection of childhood, with priority attention to this group of 40,830 children and adolescents who lost their mothers as a result of Covid-19 in the first two years of the pandemic”, says Fiocruz researcher Cristiano Boccolini, coordinator of Observa Infância, in a statement .
“It is true that the death of a parent, in particular the mother, is linked to adverse outcomes throughout life and has serious consequences for the well-being of the family, profoundly affecting the structure and family dynamics”, says Celia Landmann Szwarcwald, researcher at the Information and Health Laboratory of the Institute for Scientific and Technological Communication and Information in Health (Icict/Fiocruz), in a statement.
“Orphaned children are more vulnerable to emotional and behavioral problems, which requires intervention programs to mitigate the psychological consequences of being orphaned”, completes the researcher.
The survey was based on deaths from Covid-19 recorded in the Mortality Information System (SIM) in 2020 and 2021 and data from the Live Births Information System (Sinasc) between 2003 and 2020.
“Research shows that Covid-19 was responsible for one-third of all deaths related to labor and birth complications among young women, which represents a 37% increase in maternal mortality rates in Brazil, compared to 2019. , when she was already tall. For every thousand babies born alive, one mother died in Brazil during the first two years of the pandemic,” says Cristiano.
The study also has the participation of researchers Celia Landmann Szwarcwald and Wanessa da Silva de Almeida, from Fiocruz, Adauto Martins Soares Filho and Deborah Carvalho Malta, from UFMG.
Impacts of the pandemic
Covid-19 was responsible for a fifth of all deaths recorded in Brazil (19%) in 2020 and 2021, reveals the study. The peak of the pandemic occurred in March 2021, with almost 4,000 deaths per day, higher than the average number of deaths per day from all causes in 2019.
“The age group from 40 to 59 years old was the one with the highest proportion of victims of Covid-19, compared to mortality from other causes. In this group, one in four Brazilians who died in 2020 and 2021 died related to Covid-19”, points out Cristiano.
The survey calculates Covid-19 mortality rates according to gender, age group and education. Until the age of 30, the death rate from Covid-19 is similar between men and women, but it begins to distance itself from this age group onwards. Overall, the death rate from Covid-19 among men was 31% higher than among women.
To estimate the impact of education on mortality from Covid-19, the researchers used data on deaths from the disease and the distribution of the Brazilian population by level of education from the National Health Survey. The results show that among illiterate adults, mortality from Covid-19 was three times higher than among those who completed higher education.
“Given the natural history of several diseases, it is clear that education, together with other socioeconomic characteristics, is an important factor for prognosis. With Covid-19 it’s no different. Socioeconomic inequality leads to inequalities in access to health services and, consequently, difficulties in timely diagnosis and treatment of cases”, highlights Wanessa da Silva de Almeida, also from Fiocruz.
According to the researchers, the differences in mortality rates by educational level, with a greater burden among individuals with less education, reflect the unequal impact of the epidemic on socially disadvantaged Brazilian families. In this context, the impact was even greater among children and adolescents who became orphans and lost one of the family’s breadwinners.
The authors of the study agree that the delay in adopting the public health measures necessary to control Covid-19 in Brazil aggravated the spread of the disease, resulting in losses of human lives that could have been avoided. “As a consequence of the inadequate management of the pandemic, in addition to creating a legion of orphans, Brazil lost about 19 years of productive life due to the death of young adults by Covid-19”, says Cristiano.
The study was financed by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and by Fiocruz (Ideias Inovadoras).
Source: CNN Brasil
I am an experienced journalist and writer with a career in the news industry. My focus is on covering Top News stories for World Stock Market, where I provide comprehensive analysis and commentary on markets around the world. I have expertise in writing both long-form articles and shorter pieces that deliver timely, relevant updates to readers.
