Over 5.2 Million Children Lost A Parent Or Caregiver Due To Covid-19, 2 Out Of 3 Orphaned Kids Are Adolescents: Study

Over 5.2 million children worldwide are estimated to have experienced the death of a parent or caregiver as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, according to a new study.

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New Delhi: Over 5.2 million children worldwide are estimated to have experienced the death of a parent or caregiver as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, according to a new modelling study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. 

Also, two out of three kids orphaned from Covid-19 are adolescents aged 10 to 17, the new study found. 

The researchers who conducted the study made a comparison between the numbers of children affected by Covid-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death in the six months from May 1, 2021 through October 31, 2021, with the numbers of children affected by the same problem after the first 14 months of the pandemic. 

The researchers observed that the estimates of the numbers of children affected by Covid-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death in the six months from May 1, 2021 through October 31, 2021 was twice the numbers of children affected by the same problem from March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021.

The study also said that three out of four children worldwide who experienced the death of a parent during the pandemic lost their fathers.

Children Experiencing The Loss Of A Caregiver Are At Increased Risk Of Poverty, Diseases

According to the study, children who experience the loss of a caregiver have an increased risk of poverty, exploitation and sexual violence or abuse, HIV infection, mental health challenges, severe distress, and increased vulnerability to gang involvement and violent extremism. 

The researchers, in the study, have called for evidence-based programs for children experiencing orphanhood to be urgently incorporated into pandemic response efforts. 

Evidence-Based Programs For Children Experiencing Orphanhood

These efforts include programs that support economic strengthening, enhanced community and family support, and programs that avoid placing children in institutional care. The study said that the findings can aid national responses tailored to age and circumstances of affected children. 

Dr Susan Hillis, lead author of the study, said that the researchers estimate that for every person reported to have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, one child is left orphaned or loses a caregiver, according to a Lancet statement. She said that is the equivalent of a child every six seconds facing a heightened risk of lifelong adversity unless given appropriate support in time. 

Quoting her, the statement said that support for orphaned children must be immediately integrated into every national Covid-19 response plan. She further said that such support should focus on three core components.

How Can Orphaned Children Be Supported?

These components include preventing caregiver death through equitable Covid-19 vaccine coverage, containment, and treatment; preparing families that are safe and nurturing to support affected children; and protecting children through evidence-based strategies to reduce risks of poverty, childhood adversity, and violence, according to Dr Hillis.

Affected children can be supported through kinship care, foster care, and adoption. Hillis said that the strategies will help save lives now and put the programmatic and financial infrastructure in place on a global scale to secure a better future for children and families around the world.

Dr Juliette Unwin, lead author of the study from Imperial College London, United Kingdom (UK), added that sadly, as high the researchers' estimates of orphanhood and caregiver deaths are, they are likely to be underestimated. Unwin said that the authors of the study expect these numbers to grow as more global data on Covid-19 deaths becomes available, according to the statement. 

Unwin said the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that accurate data for Covid-19 deaths in Africa are limited, and the real estimates are likely to be 10 times higher than what is currently being reported. She explained that these under-reported deaths mean that Covid-19-related orphanhood and caregiver loss is also drastically underestimated.

Real-Time Updated Data Suggests 6.7 Million Children Were Affected As Of January 2022

As of January 2022, the true totals reached 6.7 million children, as suggested by real-time updated data. "While our current study looked at estimates through October 2021, the pandemic is still raging worldwide, which means Covid-19 related orphanhood will also continue to surge," Unwin was quoted as saying in the statement.

There were an estimated 140 million orphaned children worldwide, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a study published in July 2021, the impact of Covid-19 on orphanhood was first revealed, the statement said. 

The study estimated that 1.5 million children had experienced the death of a parent or giver between March 2020 and April 2021 as a result of Covid-19.

Over 2.7 Million Children Affected Between March 2020 and April 2021

According to the new study, more than 2.7 million children are estimated to have experienced the death of a parent or caregiver due to Covid-19, during the same period. The researchers recalculated the figures from the updated Covid-19 death figures along with excess mortality data to account for indirect deaths associated with the pandemic. 

The scientists, using the same methodology, extended their analysis to October 31, 2021, the study said. They analysed mortality and fertility data from countries that accounted for the largest proportion of Covid-19 deaths, and used mathematical modelling to extrapolate their findings for global estimates. 

The researchers estimated the loss of caregiver grandparents using United Nations household composition data for the proposition of adults aged more than 60 years co-residing with children under 18 years, with or without parents. In order to estimate the number of children affected, the researchers multiplied the proportions by Covid-19-associated deaths in the relevant age group. 

The authors estimated in the study that one death resulted in only one child experiencing caregiver death.

Minimum Of 3,367,000 Children Orphaned Due To Loss Of A Parent

The researchers estimated that a minimum of 3,367,000 children were orphaned worldwide, experiencing the loss of a parent, for the entire 20-month period of the study. 

According to the study, a further 1,833,300 children were affected by the death of a grandparent or older adult caregiver living in their own home. The researchers found that overall, the number of children affected by the death of a caregiver due to Covid-19 exceeded the number of reported Covid-19 deaths. The study found 5.2 million children were affected by the death of a caregiver due to Covid-19 compared to five million Covid-19 deaths. 

Senior author Professor Lorraine Sherr from University College London (UK) said in the statement that it took 10 years for five million children to be orphaned by HIV/AIDS, whereas the same number of children have been orphaned by Covid-19 in just two years. Sherr said that these figures do not account for the latest wave of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, which may push the true toll even higher. 

She suggested swift action to identify the children behind these numbers, so that they can be given the support they need to thrive.

Which Countries Witnessed Highest Rates Of Children Affected?

As many as 20 countries were considered in the study. The number of children affected ranged from 2,400 in Germany to more than 1.9 million in India, the study said. 

In Peru, eight out of every 1000 children were affected by the loss of a parent or caregiver due to Covid-19, while in South Africa, seven out of every 1000 children were affected, the study found. These countries witnessed the highest rates of children affected by Covid-19-associated orphanhood, as per calculations of estimated orphanhood cases per capita. 

Children, in all countries, were more likely to have lost a father than a mother. More than three times as many children were experiencing the death of a father, than losing a mother, the study found. 

By estimating yearly fertility contributions separately to obtain the average number of children for each year of age between birth and 17 years, the authors calculated the ages of children who lost a parent in each of the countries studied.

Percentage Of Orphaned Children In Different Age Groups

Adolescents accounted for a far greater proportion of those orphaned, than younger children in all countries, the study said. Children aged 10-17 represented 63.6 percent of orphaned children, while children aged five to nine, and those aged zero to four years represented 21.6 percent and 14.6 percent of orphaned children, respectively, the study found.

Professor Chris Desmond, one of the authors, said that the global health community must build upon the two decades experience supporting vulnerable children through the HIV/AIDS epidemic to offer that same support for children experiencing loss due to Covid-19. Desmond said that losing a parent or grandparent is a distressing experience for any child. However, the specific needs and vulnerabilities of orphanhood vary dramatically with age and developmental stage. 

According to the statement, Desmond said that different age groups benefit from tailored, evidence-based support packages that include strengthening family-based and community support networks, and economic support while avoiding placing children in institutional care wherever possible.

The author said that the findings show the urgent need to invest in response plans focused on children at greater risk and in the locations most affected.

Limitations Of The Study

Some of the limitations of the study include the fact that the researchers' estimates are generated by mathematical modelling, and cannot measure actual numbers of children affected by a parent or caregiver's death. The authors noted other limitations such as the fact that their analysis is based on the best available data, but many countries do not have robust reporting systems for deaths or fertility.

The researchers noted in the study that future pandemic responses should include surveillance systems to monitor the numbers of children affected for every parental and caregiver death, in order to track needs for services and provide referral platforms that help point families towards appropriate support.

Real-Time Covid-19 Calculator

The authors, as part of the work, developed a real-time Covid-19 calculator. According to the study, the calculator provides ongoing updated estimates of Covid-19-associated orphanhood and death of caregivers for every country in the world. 

In the study, the researchers also described an updated evidence-based strategy for action developed by them.

Dr Michael Goodman of the University of Texas Medical Branch (United States), who was not involved in the study, wrote in a linked comment that the consequences of orphanhood linger throughout the course of a lifetime, affecting the futures of families, communities, and societies. "We determine  how long our communities will suffer the effects of COVID-19 by urgently determining the quality and force of our concern for orphaned young people," Goodman wrote in the comment.