There’s no normalcy for millions of children orphaned due to COVID-19
Forgotten in the calls for a “new normal” and the shuffle toward it are the millions of children around the world whose parent/s or guardian/s have died from Covid-19. Their post-pandemic lives will be anything but normal.
In a study published recently in the journal Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, we and several co-authors estimated that, in the first 20 months of the pandemic, more than 5 million children have lost a parent or other caregiver living in the home, such as a grandmother or grandfather. By the two-year anniversary of the pandemic in March 2022, the Covid-19 orphanhood calculator shows this number has grown to more than 7 million children.
In our study, we were able to identify groups of children most affected by caregivers’ deaths. More than half of the children affected are mourning a recent loss, because the Delta variant accelerated Covid-19 deaths in 2021. In just six months, the worldwide total of children affected doubled from 2.7 million as of May 2021 to 5.2 million children by the end of October 2021. The toll has kept rising.
So, what can our interfaith and/or multi-faith communities do to address this troubling fact? What does our religions teach us about caring for orphans?
Islam
Allah says in (translation of the) Qur’an, “and recall when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel: “You shall serve none but Allah and do good to parents, kinsmen, orphans and the needy; you shall speak kindly to people, and establish prayer and give zakah (purifying alms)…” Surah (2) Baqarah v. 83
Christianity
The Bible purports, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27
Judaism
Jews find in halakhic literature that while people should treat every individual with care, widows and orphans receive preferential treatment.
For example, if two cases come before a court at the same time, the orphan’s case goes first (Shulhan Arukh, Hoshen Mishpat 15:2). Additionally, an orphan, or his trustee, may charge rabbinically prohibited interest (Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 160:18).