BBC: Covid-19 disruptions killed 228,000 children in South Asia, says UN report

17 March, 2021

Dear HIFA and CHIFA colleagues,

Extracts below from a BBC news item and a comment from me. Full text here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-56425115

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The [UNICEF] report - Direct and Indirect Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic and Response in South Asia - examines the effect of these government strategies on healthcare, social services, including schools, and the economy.

https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/13066/file/Main%20Report.pdf

It estimates that there have been 228,000 additional deaths of children under five in these six countries [Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka] due to crucial services, ranging from nutrition benefits to immunisation, being halted.

It says the number of children being treated for severe malnutrition fell by more than 80% in Bangladesh and Nepal, and immunisation among children dropped by 35% and 65% in India and Pakistan respectively...

It also estimates that there have been some 3.5 million additional unwanted pregnancies, including 400,000 among teenagers, due to poor or no access to contraception...

The interruption to health services also affected those suffering from other diseases - the report predicts an additional 5,943 deaths across the region among adolescents who couldn't get treated for tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid and HIV/Aids.

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Comment (NPW): The text of the report is more nuanced than the news headline. The actual impact is not yet fully known, but the estimates are salutary: 'The number of deaths among children < 5 years are estimated to increase by a total of 228,641 across the six South Asian countries in 2020 compared to the previous year, with 134,789 of these deaths expected to occur in the neonatal period. The greatest increases are anticipated in India (154,020, 15% increase) and Pakistan (59,251, 14% increase) respectively.'

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Neil Pakenham-Walsh, HIFA Coordinator, neil@hifa.org www.hifa.org

Coordinator, WHO-HIFA Collaboration: HIFA project on Essential Health Services and COVID-19

https://www.hifa.org/projects/essential-health-services-and-covid-19