Covid-19 associated deaths have left nearly 150 000 children as orphans, Unicef has revealed in a report.
The number increased to 207 400 when including children who have lost their primary or secondary caregiver, such as a grandparent.
Unicef said the tragic and increasing number of Covid-19 orphans is also a reminder that Covid-19 is not over. The virus has led to the deaths of more than 1-million people globally in 2022 alone, according to World Health Organisation figures.
“Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent serious illness or death. In June this year, The Lancet estimated that 19.8-million lives were saved during the first year of Covid-19 vaccinations, December 2020 to December 2021.”
Muriel Mafico, Unicef South Africa deputy representative, said the UN agency is working with partners to protect every child’s right to live and grow up in an environment that supports their physical, psychological, social and emotional development.
This they are achieving through scaling up access to interventions such as Safe Parks that provide a protective and caring environment in which children are nurtured by professionals and caregivers. At Safe Parks, they can play, receive learning support, counselling and health services.
- Engaging caregivers and households in early childhood development, from learning through play to positive parenting techniques, including building knowledge and skills about how to best nurture children.
- Building the capacity of teachers to best support the psychosocial needs of the most vulnerable children in the school environment and in turn ensure school retention.
- Building the capacity of staff in primary health care facilities and community health workers to provide integrated services to children that best protect their mental and physical health.
- Increasing uptake of the child support grant to ensure that the most vulnerable households receive help, alleviate some of the stresses of everyday life while closing the exclusion rate of 2.2-million eligible children.
- Providing the most vulnerable youth with access to skills building opportunities, as well as work and entrepreneurial mentorships and opportunities.
“Efforts to scale up and strengthen the capacity of family-based care and social protection systems are critical to enhance family resilience and help to prevent any recourse to institutional care,” she said.
Unicef is also continuing its Covid-19 response with the national and provincial departments of health to help build further momentum towards the 70% coverage target of the adult population by the end of 2022.
This includes strengthening vaccine cold chain management and systems, as well as communication and community engagement work to bolster Covid-19 vaccine coverage, as well as routine childhood immunisation.
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