The Lancet released their latest study on the effect of the Pandemic in the last 14 months. According to the study, the coronavirus blow was quite destructing, with over 1.5 million children worldwide losing their loved ones-a a parent, custodial grandparent, or another person who cared for them, according to a collaborative study published in The Lancet.
The study, published Wednesday, estimated millions of children across the globe lost a parent or guardian to Covid-19.
In India, as many as 1,86,972 children lost at least one parent, relative, or guardian living with them since the pandemic began in the country.
Pandemic in India affects 1,86,972 children
Since the last 400 plus days of the covid pandemic, over 1 million children lost one or both parents, and another half a million children lost a grandmother caregiver living in their own home, according to the report.
COVID-19 has resulted in the deaths of 1 million children, 1.1 million children who have lost a parent or custodial grandmother, and more than 1.5 million children who have lost a parent, custodial grandparent, or other secondary familial caregivers.
The study — which was conducted by researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Imperial College in London, World Health Organization, Oxford University among others — further noted that over 10 lakh children experienced the death of one or both parents during the first 14 months of the pandemic
Another 5 lakh, meanwhile, experienced the death of a grandparent or caregiver living in their home.
The researchers warned that these children are also at increased risk of disease, physical abuse, sexual violence, and adolescent pregnancy.
“For every two COVID-19 deaths worldwide, one child is left behind to face the death of a parent or caregiver,” said Susan Hillis, from the CDC’s Covid-19 response team, one of the lead authors on the study.
How the Lancet study was conducted
The estimates are based on mortality data of the 21 countries that account for 77 percent of the global deaths due to Covid. This included deaths officially reported between 1 March 2020 and 30 April 2021 as well as the number of excess deaths estimated in the same period.
The death rates were linked to fertility data for males and females from the 21 countries to estimate the number of children who lost a parent due to Covid-19.
The researchers extended their analysis to include deaths of grandparents or other older adults aged 60 to 84 years who were living in the same household as the children and used the United Nations Population Division’s statistics on household composition for this
The findings suggested that at least 11,34,000 children lost their mother, father or custodial grandparents, as a consequence of Covid-19 across the world.
