Nearly 1.5 children orphaned in India due to COVID 19 pandemic: NCPCR

Nearly 1.5 lakh children were orphaned due to COVID 19 and other reasons, since April 1, 2020, according to the information provided to Supreme Court by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

NCPCR told the apex court in a suo motu case on children in need of care and protection due to loss of parents during COVID-19 pandemic, that 1,47,492 children lost either their mother or father or both parents since April 1, 2020, due to the pandemic or other reasons.

NCPCR said that its information is based on the data uploaded by states and union territories on the Baal Swaraj portal for COVID care and is up to January 11, 2022.

According to the NCPCR, 1,36,910 children lost a single parent and 10,094 children are in need of care and protection. Maximum number of these children are in the age group of eight to 13 years, the figure being 59,010; there are 22,763 children in the age group of 14 to 15 years and 22,626 aged between 16 to 18 years, while there are 26,080 such children in the age group of four to seven years.

The Commission told the Supreme Court that it is taking steps to ensure that the children are not affected or are less adversely affected in the pandemic. NCPCR has been conducting virtual meetings with State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights to update itself on the status of preparedness in the event of a third wave of COVID pandemic, should such a wave arrive. It is taking information from the states on the health care facilities, institutions for children, residential educational institutions, child care institutions, street children and the status of the implementation of the orders of the Supreme Court.