Geneva: With more than 3.3 million losing their lives to COVID-19 this year, the number of deaths caused by the deadly virus is more than from HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined in 2020. Still, there were an estimated 14 million more malaria cases and 47 thousand more malaria deaths in 2020 compared to 2019. More than half of countries surveyed between June and October this year reported disruptions to services for diabetes, cancer screening and treatment, and management of hypertension.
Moreover, according to new data released this year, 23 million children missed out on routine vaccines in 2020, the largest number in over a decade – increasing risks from preventable diseases like measles and polio.
The world still remains in the grip of the pandemic and the World Health Organization (WHO) figures show that it continues to claim around 50,000 lives every week.
“That’s not to mention the unreported deaths, and the millions of excess deaths caused by disruptions to essential health services,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said here on December 20, 2021. He warned that it is more likely that people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 could be infected or reinfected.
There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant. WHO points out that while just a month ago Africa was reporting its lowest number of cases in 18 months, last week, it reported the fourth-highest number of cases in a single week so far.
“Africa is now facing a steep wave of infections, driven largely by the Omicron variant,” Dr. Ghebreyesus stated. He also mentioned that COVID-19 is far from the only emergency to which WHO has responded this year. “In Afghanistan, Cox’s Bazaar, DRC, Ethiopia, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere, WHO is delivering humanitarian aid, supporting health systems, responding to outbreaks and doing everything we can to save lives. And around the world, WHO is working with countries to restore and sustain essential health services disrupted by the pandemic,” he said.
With Christmas and festival times approaching, he warned that there can be no doubt that increased social mixing over the holiday period in many countries will lead to increased cases, overwhelmed health systems and more deaths.
“All of us are sick of this pandemic. All of us want to spend time with friends and family. All of us want to get back to normal. The fastest way to do that is for all of us – leaders and individuals – to make the difficult decisions that must be made to protect ourselves and others,” he said.
– global bihari bureau
