Global minimum estimates of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and deaths of caregivers: a modelling study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic priorities have focused on prevention, detection, and response. Beyond morbidity and mortality, pandemics carry secondary impacts, such as children orphaned or bereft of their caregivers. Such children often face adverse consequences, including poverty, abuse, and institutionalisation. We provide estimates for the magnitude of this problem resulting from COVID-19 and describe the need for resource allocation.

Methods

We used mortality and fertility data to model minimum estimates and rates of COVID-19-associated deaths of primary or secondary caregivers for children younger than 18 years in 21 countries. We considered parents and custodial grandparents as primary caregivers, and co-residing grandparents or older kin (aged 60-84 years) as seco

SUBMITTER: Hillis SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8293949 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature