Jaipur: “Kids aged 2 yrs old baby girl and 2 months old baby boy whose parents have passed away due to Covid. These kids need a home. If anyone close to you is looking for adoption, please contact…” These are the messages that are circulating on social media in Rajasthan. Organizations working for the welfare of children fear the trafficking and abuse of such children. Meanwhile, the government has given directions to hospitals to take declarations from sick parents, to confirm who their children should go to in case of their deaths.
Many children have lost their parents in pandemic and desperate pleas to adopt these children are circulating on social media these days in Rajasthan. There are cases also where both the parents are sick and admitted to hospital or one of the parents is infected and the other one has to go to work and there is no one to take care of their children. Organizations believe that these children are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
Sanjay Sharma, Deputy Programs Director for Save the Children in India said: “This is an incredibly confusing and difficult time for children, especially for those who have lost their parents. Every day we receive around 80 distress calls from children in just one state, and we’re concerned that things will get even worse as the death toll continues to rise.” He said that besides the immediate threat to their safety, this crisis is taking toll on children’s mental health. In many cases, these children had to watch their parents suffer without access to oxygen or proper medical care, which is likely to leave them extremely distressed.
Shailendra Panday, a member of Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights said, "We have received four massages for the adoption of these children and we have given directions to investigate the matter and also appealed the people to not adopt any child without legal formalities."
The government has also directed the hospitals to take full information about the family and children of the patients that are admitting to the hospitals and take declarations to confirm who their children should go to in case of their deaths. A doctor as nodal officer in every hospital will be responsible for this.
