United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), on Tuesday, revealed that an additional 6,000 children under the age of five could die every day from preventable causes during the next six months as the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelms health systems across the world.
The estimate is based on an analysis published in the Lancet Global Health Journal by researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The paper presents three scenarios concerning the impact of reductions in lifesaving interventions on child and maternal deaths.
According to the worst case scenario, a total of 1.2 million under-five deaths could occur in 118 low and middle income countries during six months. These projected deaths will be in addition to the 2.5 million children below the age of five that die every six months in the aforementioned 118 countries.
Additionally, 56,700 more maternal deaths could occur during the same period, in addition to the 144,000 deaths that are already recorded in the same countries over a six-month period.
The projections represent a 44.7 percent increase in under-five child deaths and a 38.6 percent increase in maternal deaths per month resulting from a 45 percent reduction of health interventions including family planning, antenatal and postnatal care, child delivery and vaccinations as well as preventive and curative services.
Based on the least severe scenario, a 15 percent reduction of health interventions is predicted to increase under-five child deaths by 9.8 percent or approximately 1,400 per day. The increase in maternal deaths is estimanted at 8.3 percent.
According to UNICEF, COVID-19 is causing disruptions in medical supply chains and straining both financial and human resources in countries with already weak healthcare systems. Furthermore, fewer people are visiting health care centres due to lockdowns, curfews, transport disruptions and fears of infection.
The estimates from the Lancet Global Health Journal demonstrate that the disruption of routine health and decreased access to food will significantly increase child and maternal deaths. The greatest number of additional child deaths will result from reduced treatment of neonatal sepsis and pneumonia as well as a higher prevalence of wasting among children.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore stated that "We must not let mothers and children become collateral damage in the fight against the virus. And we must not let decades of progress on reducing preventable child and maternal deaths be lost".
In addition to the estimated rise in child and maternal deaths, UNICEF expressed concern over other impacts the pandemic might have on children.
- Almost 1.3 billion students, or 72 per cent, are out of school as a result of nationwide school closures in 177 countries
- Nearly 370 million children across 143 countries that rely on school meals for a reliable source of daily nutrition are forced to find alternatives
- Over 117 million children in 37 countries may not receive their measles vaccine due to the halt of immunization campaigns
- 40 percent of the global population are unable to wash their hands with soap and water at home
- As of early May, an estimated 77 per cent of children under the age of 18, 1.80 billion out of 2.35 billion, were living in one of the 132 countries with stay-at-home policies
During the week, UNICEF plans to launch #Reimagine, a global campaign to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from creating a long-term crisis for children, especially those who are vulnerable including those affected by poverty, exclusion or family violence.
The campaign urgently appeals governments, donors, the private sector the public to join UNICEF's frive to respond, recover and reimagine.
- Respond: Efforts to stop the spread of the disease, assist the sick and protect first responders working on frontlines
- Recover: Endeavours to mitigate knock-on impacts on children and address the damage inflicted as well as concerted efforts to prevent a return of the disease.
- Reimagine: Lay the grounwork for building back better and ensure that systems and policies protect people
Two of UNICEF’s partners, Pandora and ING, have both agreed to pledge donations to kickstart the campaing and encourage more public contributions in the coming weeks.
"The COVID-19 crisis is a child rights crisis. We need an immediate-, medium- and long-term response that not only addresses the challenges created by the pandemic and its secondary impacts on children, but also outlines a clear version for building back a better world when the crisis finally recedes. For that, we need everyone’s ideas, resources, creativity and heart", stated the UNICEF Executive Director.
"It is our shared responsibility today, to reimagine what the world will look like tomorrow."
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