Uttar Pradesh: 30% of Covid orphans show abnormal grief

LUCKNOW: During the deadly second wave of Covid-19 in 2021, 17-year-old Rimi lost her father to the disease. Her mother had passed away a couple of months before this tragedy. Now, she is left to take care of her three younger siblings. Their only other caregiver is their uncle, who is pursuing higher education.
A year later, the siblings from Hapur are in denial of their parents passing away.
Like Rimi, about 30% of Covid orphans in UP are minors who lost both parents. They have shown abnormal grief and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), claimed child psychologist from Delhi-based mental health service provider Mind Piper.
The organisation, in association with UNICEF, recently conducted a three-day training session of 100 counsellors from the department of women and child development in the state.
Clinical psychologist Vartika Modi from Mind Piper said, “We have observed that children who have lost both parents in Uttar Pradesh due to Covid have shown abnormal grief and PTSD.”
According to the department, 480 minors have lost both parents to Covid here.
“Affected Covid orphans are in shock after the sudden demise of their parents. Unable to navigate their path without parents, these minors are vulnerable to trauma. We are training the counsellors to deal with them. This involves psychological first aid, rapport building and micro-counselling skills along with trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy. This has shown to drastically reduce the impact of abnormal grief and PTSD on an individual’s life.”
Counsellor Sohan Gupta from Etawah, who was among the 100 counsellors who attended the training session in Lucknow, said, “Covid orphans really need our help, as they prefer to live alone. They don’t want to talk, especially about the tragedy. They show lack of concentration as well.”
“A majority of affected orphans are between 5 and 14 years of age. Our efforts are to give them hope and bring them back to normal life,” he added.
Piush Antony, the social policy specialist of UNICEF, said, “An intervention is required for such orphans as per their age and evaluation of their deep trauma. The counsellors help the local administration keep an eye on vulnerable children.”
(Names of minors have been changed)