Helping the forgotten victims of coronavirus
Compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves is easy to summon when all is well in our world. Right now, of course, all is far from well for millions of people around the globe, with some of the wealthiest nations seeing the worst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and suffering more than their share of the approximately 5.6 million global cases and 350,000 deaths recorded so far.
That is why UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, is keenly aware that raising money and support for “Save Generation Covid,” the biggest appeal in the organization’s 73-year history, will not be easy. The appeal follows a shocking prediction that, over the next six months, up to 6,000 children around the world could die every day — not from the coronavirus, but from preventable causes as a direct consequence of the pandemic’s impact on health systems in some of the world’s poorest countries.
The looming calamity now facing the world, according to UNICEF, is that the impact of the coronavirus on vulnerable health systems is threatening to undo decades of progress in reducing preventable child deaths. Researchers modeled three scenarios for each of 118 low and middle-income countries, including Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. As a result of coronavirus, essential maternal and child health interventions in those 118 countries had been reduced by between 9.8 and 51.9 percent, they found. Acute malnutrition increased by between 10 and 50 percent. The “least severe” scenario, they concluded, would result in 253,500 additional child deaths and 12,200 additional maternal deaths over six months.
In the worst-case scenario, more than 1.2 million additional children would die and 56,700 mothers.
However, it isn’t only in the developing world where the most vulnerable are being neglected thanks to the strain on health and social care systems because of COVID-19. According to data published last week by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, the virus accounted for only a third of 30,000 extra deaths recorded in care homes, private homes and hospices in England and Wales over the five-week period to May 1. In other words, in the UK alone, where more than 35,000 lives have been lost so far to COVID19, another 20,000 people might have lived longer if the pandemic had not affected the level of care given to them.
UNICEF says it is vital that vulnerable children are kept healthy and well fed, supplied with water, proper sanitation and hygiene, and are able to keep learning. Families must be supported “to cover their needs and care for their children” and children must be protected from violence, exploitation and abuse. Refugee and migrant children and those affected by conflict are especially vulnerable.
With schools closed, nearly 370 million children across 143 countries who normally rely on school meals must now look to other sources. As of April 14, more than 117 million children in 37 countries may miss out on their measles vaccination as the pandemic brings immunization campaigns to a halt. These are just two examples of the upheaval caused by the coronavirus. As those in the developed world struggle with the disruption and horror of what their “new normal” looks like, they also face an additional test — of their compassion and humanity.