COVID: Thousands of Indian children orphaned by pandemic
Despite government efforts to assist children whose parents died as a result of the virus, rights activists say that such children are still vulnerable to trafficking, trauma and abuse.
Over 9,000 children have been orphaned or left without a parent due to the virus
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has devastated families across India, has left thousands of children orphaned or without one parent.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 1,700 children have lost both parents, while 140 have been abandoned and more than 7,400 have lost one of their parents to the virus, according to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).