Real Covid-19 death count across the world twice the reported figure: WHO

At least 3 million people are estimated to have died from the Covid19 pandemic globally in 2020 about 2 times higher than the 18 million official fatality figure reported by countries to the WHO a ldquosignificant undercountrdquo of total deaths directly and indirectly attributed to the coronavirus the global health agency said on FridayThe WHO in its World Health Statistics report said that as of December 31 2020 Covid19 had infected over 82 million people and killed more than 18 million worldwideBut preliminary estimates suggest the total number of global ldquoexcess deathsrdquo directly and indirectly attributable to Covid19 in 2020 amount to at least 3 million 12 million higher than the official figures reported by countries to the World Health OrganizationAlso Read 93yearold lsquofirst Indian womanrsquo to donate her body for Covid19 researchldquoWith the latest Covid19 deaths reported to WHO now exceeding 33 million based on the estimates produced for 2020 we are likely facing a significant undercount of total deaths directly and indirectly attributed to Covid19rdquo WHO said in the reportIt said the term ldquoexcess deathsrdquo describes deaths beyond what would have been expected under ldquonormalrdquo conditionsldquoExcess deathsrdquo captures not only confirmed deaths but also Covid19 deaths that were not correctly diagnosed and reported as well as deaths attributable to the overall crisis conditionsWHO said these estimates provide a more comprehensive and accurate measure when compared with confirmed Covid19 deaths aloneldquoAll countries must have the necessary capacity and resources to accurately collect and use health data even in the midst of an ongoing crisisrdquo WHO DirectorGeneral Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saidldquoThe Covid19 pandemic has shown the importance of data and science to build back more resilient health systems and equitably accelerate towards our shared global goalsrdquo he saidThe report noted that some countries only report Covid19 deaths occurring in hospitals or the deaths of people who have tested positive for Covid19 In addition many countries cannot accurately measure or report cause of death due to inadequate or underresourced health information systemsldquoThe pandemic has likely increased deaths from other causes due to disruption to health service delivery and routine immunisations fewer people seeking care and shortages of funding for nonCovid19 servicesrdquo it saidThe report highlighted that the pandemic has revealed significant gaps in country health information systems While highresource settings have faced challenges related to overstretched capacity and fragmentation weaker health systems risk jeopardising hardwon health and development gains made in recent decadesThe report also noted that Covid19 has exposed persistent inequalities by income age race sex and geographic location Despite recent global health gains across the world people continue to face complex interconnected threats to their health and wellbeing rooted in social economic political and environmental determinants of health it saidFurther data from the Covid19 World Symptoms survey shows a decline in preventive behaviours such as physical distancing mask wearing and hand washing as household overcrowding increasesldquoAmong people living in uncrowded households 79 per cent reported trying to physically distance themselves compared with 71 per cent in moderately overcrowded and 65 per cent in extremely overcrowded households Similar trends were observed for hand washing and maskwearing underscoring vulnerabilities due to socioeconomic statusrdquoWHO underscored the importance of investing in strong health information systems saying it is vital to ensure disaggregated data reaches decisionmakers and achieve equitable health outcomesldquoWith stronger more equitable health information systems we can more accurately measure progress towards the healthrelated Sustainable Development Goals and WHOs Triple Billion targetsrdquo the agency saidldquoWe are now less than nine years away from 2030rdquo says Dr Samira Asma Assistant DirectorGeneral for the Division of Data Analytics and Delivery for Impact at WHOldquoWe know where the gaps are and we have the solutions to address them What we need now is commitment and investment to accelerate progress and reach our goalsrdquo Asma saidAccording to Johns Hopkins University Covid19 tracker more than 165633000 confirmed cases have been reported globally while over 3432000 deaths have occurredThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever