March 18, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

The report "Direct and Indirect Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic and Response in South Asia" examined the strategies of 6 South Asian governments (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) on healthcare, social services, including economy and education. The report was commissioned by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), cited disruptions in health services due to COVID-19 might have caused an additional 239,000 child and maternal deaths in South Asia.

Up to now, the COVID-19 pandemic has had major and multiple impacts, both direct and indirect, on these 6 South Asian countries, a homeland of more than 1.8 billion population, reportedly 13 million COVID-19 infection cases and 186,000 deaths.

The UNICEF report proclaims health services ought to be restored and strengthened urgently to contain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable families. A careful analysis was carried out by evaluating the effects of public health interventions on COVID-19 and forecast its spread in South Asia. It conducted a simulation study using a computational stochastic individual contact model (ICM) based on an extension of the Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) compartment model. Moreover, the report predicts an additional 5,943 deaths across the region among adolescents with disruptions in medical treatments for malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid, and AIDS/HIV diseases.

Sun Ah Kim, Deputy Regional Director of UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA), calls for rendering essential health services to adolescents, infants, and pregnant women worldwide a topmost priority. It is vital to strengthen the accessibility of vaccines and other essential childhood medicines globally as well.

Photo:Webshot.