World Health Organization: Corona deaths reach 3 times the declared toll
On Friday, the World Health Organization announced that the number of deaths due to Corona is two or three times greater than the official figures announced on the epidemic.
On the occasion of the issuance of its annual report on global health statistics, the organization stated that in 2020 Corona caused the death of three million people, either directly or indirectly, while official figures indicate about 1.8 million deaths.
Samira Asma, assistant director-general of the health organization in charge of collecting data, said during a press conference that this toll "matches similar estimates, which all state that the total number of deaths is at least two to three times greater than what was officially reported."
The official indicated that the epidemic has so far caused, according to WHO figures, "about six to eight million" direct and indirect deaths.
She stressed that "the Corona epidemic poses a great threat to the health and well-being of peoples throughout the world," explaining that the Health Organization was working with countries "in order to show the true human outcome of the epidemic so that we are better prepared for the next emergency situation."
About 130,000 people have died in Corona in Africa, compared to more than 1.1 million in Europe and more than 3.4 million worldwide, according to AFP statistics, published on Friday, according to official sources.
And deaths among people with severe symptoms of the Corona virus in Africa are higher compared to other continents, for reasons that may include the lack of necessary care supplies, according to a study published by AFP, on Friday.
Africans have so far avoided the worst damage from Corona compared to other regions in the death toll and injuries. However, the study authors concluded that the mortality rate among patients could be higher than the reported figures due to lack of data.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council stressed, in a statement, which it unanimously adopted, on the need to increase aid to Africa to strengthen its response to the Corona pandemic, especially at the level of vaccines, considering that vaccination campaigns against the Corona virus on the continent are insufficient.
On average, 31.5 percent of seriously ill patients die after being transferred to intensive care departments in Asia, Europe and the Americas, while 48.2 percent die in African countries.
Lack of supplies in Asia
In the same context, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that Asia is facing a shortage of supplies of Corona vaccine, amid the high number of daily deaths.
She said in a statement, issued on Friday, that vaccines in Nepal and Bangladesh have run out, while most countries in the region are suffering from a shortage. The statement stated that hospitals in India, Nepal, Malaysia and the Philippines are full of Corona patients.
Many of the wealthiest countries have bought enough vaccines to immunize each person multiple times, while most countries in Asia have only a small portion of that.
The Red Cross urged pharmaceutical companies and governments to work together to ensure the best availability of vaccines in Asia, which is now the epicenter of the global epidemic with the largest number of new cases.
He also called on rich countries to speed up their plans to ship excess vaccine stocks. He said that vaccines have become more important with the spread of Corona variants, but vaccination rates are still very low in Asia.
It is noteworthy that both India and Indonesia vaccinated only about 3 percent of their population, while only about 0.6 percent had fully vaccinated the Philippines.