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Disruptions in health services due to the pandemic are putting millions of additional lives at risk around the world, the United Nations said on Wednesday, warning that Covid-19 could reverse decades of progress in reducing infant mortality.
In the past 30 years, remarkable progress has been made in preventing or treating the causes of infant death, including preterm birth and pneumonia.
New mortality estimates released by the UN children’s fund UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group found that 2019 saw the lowest number of under-five deaths worldwide .
Last year around 5.2 million children died from preventable diseases, compared with 12.5 million in 1990.
But he warned that the pandemic risked undoing all of this by cutting off routine child and maternal health services.
A UNICEF survey of 77 countries found that 68 percent reported at least some interruption in child health checks and vaccinations.
Henrietta Fore, executive director of Unicef, said that children and mothers, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, were being denied access to health care due to Covid-19 cases clogging national infrastructure. .
“The world community has gone too far in eliminating preventable child deaths to allow the pandemic to stop us in our tracks,” he said.
“Without urgent investments to restart disrupted health systems and services, millions of children under the age of five, especially newborns, could die.”
Neonatal care in developing countries is relatively inexpensive and can profoundly affect child survival rates.
For example, women who receive care from professional midwives are 16 percent less likely to lose their baby and 24 percent less likely to experience preterm labor, according to the WHO.
The model conducted earlier this year by Johns Hopkins University found that nearly 6,000 additional children could die every day if Covid-19 health care interruptions continue in the medium term.
The survey found that seven countries had infant mortality rates of more than 50 deaths per 1,000 live births last year.
In Afghanistan, where 1 in 17 children dies before their fifth birthday, the health ministry reported a “significant reduction” in visits to health centers, UNICEF said.
Much of the disruption may be due to fear of contracting Covid-19. But there are profound risks to mothers and babies avoiding non-coronavirus healthcare facilities.
John Wilmoth, director of the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the report showed that the world had made significant progress in reducing infant mortality over the past 30 years.
“It also draws attention to the need to correct large inequalities in a child’s prospects for survival and good health,” he said.
