Coronavirus orphans 3500 children in Bangladesh

Two-and-a-half-year-old Fayaz’s father Muhibullah was a principal officer at Agrani Bank. He lived in Pabna with his wife and son. He died of coronavirus on 5 April. Little Fayaz is fatherless.

Over 21,000 people in the country died of coronavirus over the past 16 months. And 3,500 children like Fayaz have been orphaned, having lost their father or mother or both. Studies indicate the number of children who lost their fathers is five times than that of those who lost their mothers. The pandemic hidden within the Covid-19 pandemic is the orphaning of children under 18 years of age.

The internationally renowned medical journal Lancet has published an article on children who have become orphans due to coronavirus. The article focuses in corona-related deaths in 21 countries from 1 March 2020 till 30 April 2021.

Imperial College of London has created a ‘Covid-19 orphanhood tool’ based on the Lancet’s research results. It provides data on children in all countries who have been orphaned by coronavirus. The tool gets the data on coronavirus-related deaths from Johns Hopkins University. And the reproductive rates of the countries have been taken from UN’s global data on population.

According to Imperial College’s orphanhood tool, till 30 July, 3,500 children in Bangladesh lost either their mother or father. And 2,900 children lost their direct caregivers while 6,100 children lost their direct or indirect caregivers.

Any child losing one or both parents has been considered as an orphan. Alongside the parents of the child, guardian-like grandparents have also been considered as direct caregivers. And parents or relatives of 60 to 84 years of age living with the family are seen as indirect caregivers.

In the article published on 20 July, it was said that that high death rate of adults was leading to many children losing their parents and direct caregivers. This also had occurred in the past due to AIDS, Ebola, and the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Orphan children are more vulnerable to mental problems, physical, mental and sexual abuse as well as family poverty. The risk or suicide, child pregnancies and chronic illnesses is higher among these children.

Associate professor of the National Institute of Mental Health, Ahmed Helal, speaking to Prothom Alo said, “Special care must be taken of these children who have been orphaned by corona. Their mental health must also be given attention. The state must also determine what is to be done for these children.” He said, as it is the social skills and productivity of orphans decreases.

The Lancet research was carried out on corona-related deaths from 1 March 2020 till 30 April 2021 in 21 countries. Of the global corona deaths, 77 per cent took place in these countries. The study focused on the deaths of direct or indirect caregivers of children under 18. UK Research and Innovation, UK National Institute for Health Research, US National Institute for Health, and Imperial College London assisted in the research.

In the 21 countries included in the research, 1,042,000 (10 lakh 42 thousand) children had lost their father or mother or both. Around 1.15 million (11.5 lakh) children lost their direct caregivers and over 1.5 million (15.5) lost their indirect caregivers.

Paternal and maternal grandparents were important caregivers for the children. Around the world, in 38 per cent of the families the grandparents stay with the children. In Southeast Asia this is around 50 per cent.

In the UK and the US, grandparents are direct caregivers for 40 per cent of the children. The death of these caregivers due to coronavirus has an adverse effect on the children.

The study shows that 10 in every 1000 children had been orphaned in the Latin American country Peru. In South Africa it was 5 in every thousand, in Mexico 3.5, in Brazil 2.4, in Colombia 2.3, in the US 1.5 and in Russia one in every thousand.

Most of these children were orphaned by losing their young or middle-aged fathers. The fathers that died and orphaned their children were mostly aged between 45 and 64. The mothers that died orphaning their children were mostly between the age 15 and 44. The death of mothers, fathers and guardians permanently changed the lives of the children. Experts feel the need of global response to these deaths.

After Mahibullah Bahar, principal officer at Agrani Bank, passed away, his wife Kaniz Fatema broke down mentally. She is under psychiatric treatment. Bahar’s elder brother Mokarram Hossain told Prothom Alo, the loss created by Bahar’s death can never be fulfilled. Bahar’s son used to be so lively, but has lost a lot of weight after Bahar’s death. He feels the loss of his father. And there are financial problems too.

Mahmudul Hakim was the senior deputy editor at the daily Shomoyer Alo. He died on 6 May. His son is an SSC examinee and younger son in Class 9. Mahmudul was the only earning member of his family. The whole family is in dire straits after his death.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Mahmudul’s wife Arifa Sultana said her sons are struggling to come to terms with their father’s death. He was like a friend to them. They talk about him all the time. Her parents are now looking after the family.

On the morning of 16 April Rifat Sultana (30), associate producer of Ekattor Television, gave birth to a child. She died of coronavirus that very afternoon. She also has three-year-old twins.

Rifat’s husband Nazmul Islam, speaking to Prothom Alo, said that life goes on. Everyone in the family is taking care of the children. The twins often ask about their mother.

Matiur Rahman of Nataipara in Bogura town was an office assistant at an insurance company. He lost his job in September. His wife Maisha Farah would teach at a kindergarten school. She’s been unemployed since March. Matiur Rahman began driving an easybike to carry passengers and earn money. But he died of coronavirus on 31 December. Maisha Farah is at a loss with her two daughters – five and two-and-a-half years old – and her elderly father. She now works as a cleaner in a company, but struggles to make ends meet. She said the family is in grave problems after her husband passed away.

The Lancet article said that the families of children who have lost a mother or father are at more risk of facing poverty. Prothom Alo spoke to 10 families where the earning member had died. These families were worried about the future and studies of the children. Many of these families had plunged into financial crisis.

Ayrina Khatun (19) is from the village Kishorepur of Durgapur upazila, Rajshahi. She is a first year student at Daudkandi College of Durgapur upazila. He father Abdul Malek (60) died on 25 July at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. He used to run a small grocery, the family’s only source of income.

Ayrina had taken her father to Rajshahi Medical on 21 June when he contracted coronavirus. Their shop remained shut after he fell ill. Ayrina said that the day after her father got admitted to hospital, her mother Mohsina Begum (45) also fell ill with coronavirus. They had no savings. She couldn’t afford her parent’s treatment. She had to sell their ducks before getting her father admitted to hospital.

Md Sultan (36) was from Birampur upazila of Dinajpur. His daughter was in Class 10 and son in Class 5. He had a small grocery shop next to his house. On 11 June Md Sultan passed away at M Abdur Rahim Medical College. He was the only earning member of the family and they are struggling now. They used up all money from the grocery for Sultan’s treatment and have no funds to replenish the stock. The shop is doing poorly. They are heading towards a financial crisis.

Other than prevention and detection of coronavirus, taking care of the children is also extremely important. Financial and mental assistance to families where the parents have died will help in bringing up the children. Psychiatric assistance, therapy and communication can play an effective role in caring for these children.

A children’s helpline must be operative round the clock. It must be ensured that girls are not forced into child marriage or under-age girls are made pregnant. The central and local government, NGOs, the donor community, volunteer organisations, all must join hands to take up initiatives to address these matters.

Head of the national advisory committee for coronavirus, Mohammad Shahidullah, is a senior child specialist. Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said the society and the state must be sensitive about children. Orphans must be identified and their requirements determined according to their age. Steps must be taken for the mental, social and financial assistance of these children. This task must be done very soon. He said he would bring the matter up at the next meeting of the advisory committee.

* This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir