Need to rehabilitate children orphaned by Covid: Unicef

The Unicef on Tuesday called upon NGOs and community-based organizations to identify and rehabilitate the children left orphaned by Covid 19.

Ruth Leano, chief of Unicef field office, Uttar Pradesh, said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has affected children across the globe. We are deeply concerned over the suffering of children who have lost one or both parents to Covid-19. They are in need of immediate care and protection. We call upon all NGOs and community-based organizations to identify such children and to immediately inform the Childline 1098 or Women Helpline 181”.

She also said that such children needed trauma counselling and were also at high risk of neglect, abuse and exploitation.

She was speaking at a meeting held in association with the department of women and child development, UP. Calling the initiative the need of the hour, officials of the department assured all possible help to such children.

V. Hekali Zhimomi, principal secretary, department of women and child development, UP said that the government was proactively tracking such children and was committed to ensuring that every child was protected. “We have seen adoption appeals circulate and become viral. Not only are they illegal, they also potentially expose the children to exploitation, away from the security of extended family and institutions,” said Zhimomi.

Dr Vishesh Gupta, chairperson, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) said, “SCPCR is taking cognizance of all children who have been affected due to Covid. We are concerned about the safety of these children as they are soft targets for abuse and trafficking and have written to the government regarding the same.”

While talking about the initiatives taken by the state government, Manoj Kumar Rai, director, department of women and child development, said, “The state government is working on a rehabilitation scheme for all such children. Their safety and protection is our prime concern and we are working towards it. The department is busy identifying all such children who have lost either one or both parents to Covid and are trying to reach out to them.”

He said the department was also encouraging people to contact the district probation officers or call the Helpline with information about such children.