On January 6, the Minister for Women and Vulnerable Populations made an official report. Around 98,000 children are now orphans.
Based on figures from the medical journal The Lancet, Anahi Durand declared: “Our country unfortunately (…) has almost 98,000 children who have lost their father, mother or guardian during the pandemic. (…). We have the sad record of being the country with the greatest number of children having lost a father, a mother ”.
If Peru has 33 million inhabitants, AFP reports that it has the highest death rate in the world with 6,122 deaths per million inhabitants. As the Andean country is currently going through its third wave, two million people have been infected with Covid-19 and there are more than 202,900 deaths to date, AFP said.
The ministry pays aid
Faced with the growing number of orphans, the government has decided to help the most vulnerable by paying them a pension of 200 sols, which is equivalent to around 40 euros. More than 18,000 people receive this aid, but the minister believes that the number of beneficiaries should be extended.
In the meantime, the government plans to buy 55 million doses of vaccine before the end of 2022 with the aim of granting a fourth dose to caregivers and people at risk.
The country remains in a state of emergency until January 31 for now and a curfew from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
