Lungani Zungu
More than 94,000 South African children have lost their parents to Covid-19, making the country the highest with Covid-19 orphans in Africa.
South Africa, which has 79,251 Covid-19 deaths, was one of the 21 countries involved in the study conducted by researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT), in partnership with the University of Oxford in the UK.
The study found that the pandemic has left more than 1.5 million children orphaned globally. Apart from losing their biological parents, some have also lost their guardians and caregivers.
More than 4 million people have died from Covid globally.
UCT and Oxford University Professor Lucie Cluver, who is one of the authors, said one in every 200 South African children has lost a caregiver to coronavirus, City Press reports.
“We observed a rapid escalation in our estimates during the final month of our study.
“The total number of children orphaned or losing caregivers increased by 220,000 from 1.34 million at the end of March to 1.56 million at the end of April,” she told City Press.
The study also revealed that about 1.2 million children lost their grandparents to Covid-19.
About 23% of the children in the 21 countries were raised by single parents, who also died due to Covid-19.
As many countries, including South Africa, fast-tracked the vaccination programmes for citizens, the study found countries with the highest Covid-19 death rates might not reach herd immunity for more than four years.
South Africa has opened vaccination for people who are 18 years and above.
Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said he was pleased with the turnout at vaccination sites and urged more people to vaccinate.
