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COVID left nearly 8 million kids worldwide without parent or caregiver, study says

Nearly eight million children worldwide lost a parent or primary caregiver during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.

The study, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, arrived at that number after reviewing the World Health Organization’s excess mortality statistics from Jan. 1, 2020 to May 1, 2022.

It is estimated that 7.9 million children lost a parent or primary caregiver during that time frame. When the study includes secondary caregivers such as grandparents or other relatives, that estimate jumps to 10.5 million kids.

Areas where orphanhood was most pronounced during the pandemic included Southeast Asia and Africa.