OVER the last few weeks, there have been an increasing number of reports within the child protection community of children being orphaned as a result of parents who had succumbed to Covid-19, and children being left alone without caregivers in cases of parent(s) who are under quarantine or isolation.

In a Straits Times report dated August 14, 2021, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry was reported saying that 33 children in Malaysia have lost their parents or guardians to the Covid-19 pandemic.

These figures were later contradicted by a Metro Harian report dated August 24, 2021, which said that according to the Education Ministry, the number of children that had been orphaned since the start of pandemic is 1,517.

I believe that the real figure is much higher. To date, more than 13,000 people in Malaysia have died of Covid-19 (15,550 as of August 27, 2021). Even if we were to estimate that 30% of the 13,000 had left behind one child – which would be 3,900 – the figure is still shockingly high.

What is truly appalling is that there doesn’t seem to be any protocol in place to protect and assist these children. 

In fact, there isn’t even accurate data on this matter. Case in point being the contradiction between the figures presented by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and those presented by the Education Ministry.
 
Malaysians have been blessed – we do not experience natural disasters, we are peace loving, and our last actual crisis was the May 13 incident in 1969. This has clearly made us complacent.
 
We are not the first country to be hit hard by the pandemic. We had lessons that we could have learnt from the Chinese, the Italians, the Spanish, the British and even the Indians. 

Despite this and the one-year respite that we had from the Covid-19 virus, we don’t seem to be better prepared or equipped. 
 
We need to recognise that we are in a crisis. We need urgent measures to support and help vulnerable children who are orphaned or left in need of care and protection because of the pandemic. This ought to have been done months ago. 

We need government agencies to reset their standard operating procedure and understand that in a crisis, any and all help must be utilised and prioritised.

In a climate where even funerals cannot be observed by family members, children who have lost their parents to the pandemic are in a vulnerable position. If we do not step in to help them, these children may be exposed to the dangers of exploitation, slavery, child labour, as well as loss of inheritance and contact with family. It is a known fact for example, that Muslim siblings will be separated according to gender.
 
I am working with a team of child protection experts on this and together we have identified the following matters that need to be attended to on an urgent basis:

(i) the child’s basic needs, which include food and day-to-day care;
(ii) housing/accommodation or safe temporary care and shelter including, long-term placement/alternative care arrangements like kinship care, foster care, community/family-based care or adoption for unaccompanied children and orphans;
(iii) funeral arrangements;
(iv) legal implications including inheritance issues;
(v) financial matters;
(vi) protection, especially against exploitation, abuse or child labour/slavery and neglect;
(viii) children with special needs;
(ix) continuing education; and
(x) mental health support, especially grief counselling.
 
This is an extensive list, one that involves matters that can only be accomplished by individuals or civil society groups with the support, help, and authorisation of the government.

This is not the time to dither and drag our feet. The welfare and lives of many orphaned children are at stake and we must act swiftly to tackle the crisis at hand. – August 26, 2021.

* Srividhya Ganapathy reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.