Coronavirus took away at least one parent or primary caregiver from almost 100,000 children in Peru, the country that recorded the highest death rate in the world, its government reported on 6 January, 2022.
“Unfortunately, our country has almost 98,000 children who lost their father, mother or guardian during the pandemic,” said Peru’s minister of women, Anahi Durand, referring to the figures given in the medical journal The Lancet.
According to an AFP study of government numbers, Peru tops the global figures in total COVID-19 fatalities per capita, with more than 6,000 Peruvians per million dying from the disease.
The government, in the form of social security, provides 200 soles ($50) every two months to more than 18,000 families.
Durand further plans to expand the aid to support psychological and educational needs and hopes the aid reaches more than 83,000 children and adolescents.
At present, the system in Peru is that many families are not able to access monetary benefits provided by the government as they lack the necessary documentation .
“Many families come to us and want to access the pension, but they do not have a death certificate for Covid-19 – in the first and second wave people died at home, they did not have conditions to get that certificate,” she explained.
The country of 33 million is facing the third wave of coronavirus like many other countries and reported more than two million cases.
More than 202,900 people in Peru lost their lives since the pandemic set its foot in the country in early 2020.