<
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/06/15/world/covid-orphans-world-moves-on/>
"Rana was 8 when, at the height of Indonesia’s devastating second COVID-19
wave, first her father, then her mother fell ill. They never recovered, dying
within hours of each other in June 2021.
Two years on, she still attends school and lives in the family home in West
Java province, cared for by her 23-year-old sister who now works long days in a
garment factory to support them. It is a responsibility that sometimes feels
overwhelming.
“Since I lost them, I’ve become the primary caregiver, and it’s not an easy
task,” said Rana’s sister, who requested anonymity and asked for a pseudonym to
be used for her sister to protect their identity.
“I’m very worried whenever I leave my little sister by herself,” she told the
Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.
Between 10.5 million and 12.4 million children are estimated to have lost at
least one parent or caregiver to COVID-19, a 2022 study in The Lancet showed,
many struggling with poverty as well as grief due to the loss of their family’s
main breadwinner.
“Losing a caregiver also means losing a breadwinner. It’s a downward spiral in
economics and the poorest are the most affected,” said clinical psychologist
Lorraine Sherr, who is part of a global COVID-19 orphanhood research group.
While some hard-hit countries, including Indonesia, implemented aid for the
pandemic’s orphans, researchers and children’s charities fear they could now be
overlooked as the world moves on from COVID-19 and emergency support is cut
back.
“We’ve got on with our lives and gone back to a new normal. But for these
children without their caregivers, they can’t go back,” said Seth Flaxman, a
computer scientist and associate professor at Oxford University who helped
create the orphanhood estimates using data from COVID-19 death tolls."
Via Violet Blue’s
Pandemic Roundup: June 15, 2023
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-84605385
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
