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World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated earlier this week that the world is now in a better position to end the coronavirus pandemic. While the pandemic may end sooner or later, the lives of millions of people, particularly children and teenagers, have been irreversibly altered.
According to a modeling study, over 10.5 million children worldwide have lost a parent or caregiver as a result of COVID-19.
The groundbreaking study, conducted by 13 international organizations, discovered that of the 10.5 million, 4.2 million live in Southeast Asia, 2.5 million in Africa, 1.5 million in the Americas, 1.5 million in the Eastern Mediterranean, and 500,000 in Europe.
A wake-up call for governments around the world
Countries such as India, Egypt, and Indonesia make up a large proportion of the children who have lost loved ones.
According to the report published in JAMA Pediatrics, one out of every 50 children in Southeast Asia and Africa has experienced the aforementioned scenarios.
Whereas, only one in every 150 people in the Americas has experienced such a traumatic early-life separation. The figures paint a bleak picture, as they are nearly double the previous estimates.
Globally, children who experience the loss of a parent or caregiver are more likely than not to stray from the path of normalcy. Children in such situations suffer from extreme poverty, sexual violence, abuse, sexual diseases, mental health issues, and exploitation.
“The death of a parent or caregiver places children at a heightened risk of lifelong adversity unless given appropriate support in time,” said Dr. Susan Hillis, the lead author of the study.
“When you have deaths of this magnitude, certainly without help you can weaken the fabric of a society in the future if you don’t take care of the children today.” she further added.
According to the researchers, the study should serve as a wake-up call for governments around the world to implement policies that cater to this problem.
