Covid makes 135 kids orphans in Andhra Pradesh from March 1

Ongole: The state government informed the Union ministry of women and child development (WCD) that at least 135 children have lost both parents while 1,716 children lost at least one parent to the Covid-19 from March 1, 2021.

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPC) wrote to the states and Union Territories in May first week asking them to provide data of the children who lost their both parents to the local child protection authorities to take care of them as per the procedure in Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

It also asked the local governments to share the data so that a centralised digital database can be designed to monitor and help those children. On May 25, the ministry of women and child development also asked the states to share the same information immediately and the Union minister for WCD, Smriti Irani announced on Twitter that the Centre is committed to support and protect every vulnerable child due to loss of both parents to Covid-19.

As per the report submitted by the women and child welfare department of the state, 47 children in Anantapur district, 14 children each of Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Guntur districts, 10 children from West Godavari and Nellore districts, 7 each of Prakasam and Kurnool districts, 4 from Krishna, 3 from East Godavari, 2 children each of Kadapa and Chittoor districts and 1 child from Vizianagaram lost both parents to Covid from March 1, 2021.

Similarly for the same duration, 305 children from Srikakulam district, 258 from Guntur, 245 from Nellore, 230 from Kurnool, 170 from Kadapa, 156 from West Godavari, 130 from Visakhapatnam, 91 from Prakasam, 39 from Chittoor, 38 from Vizianagaram, 30 from East Godavari, and 24 from Anantapur also lost one of the earning parents in their family.

A senior officer in the women and child welfare department said that responding to the media reports on children being orphaned due to Covid-19, the director WCWD, Krithika Shukla ordered the district child protection officers to gather information of the children who lost both parents and one parent to Covid-19 from the local Anganwadi workers.

He said that only 3 of 1851 victim children are provided institutional care, while the remaining 1,848 are with the immediate family. He said that they collected the data of the children with the details and contact number of the guardian and make sure they are taken well care of.

Nimmaraju Rammohan, secretary of NGO HELP, said that Section 44 of the JJ Act provides the guidelines for foster care and sponsorship for the children who are deprived of the parent care. He advised the government to not encourage adoptions of the children, but sponsor their care and education by keeping them with their relatives so that they would get the relationship with society, which is being lost with the children in institutional care.