‼️ *Our Kids Are In Danger!* ‼️
The world may witness the death of additional 1.2-6 lakh children over the next one year from preventable causes as a consequence of the disruption in regular health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF has warned.
It has also warned that daily around 6,000 children could die worldwide from preventable causes, over the next six months, as the COVID-19 pandemic weakens the health systems and disrupts routine services.
These potential child deaths will be in addition to the 2.5 million children who already die before their fifth birthday every six months in the 118 countries included in the study–roughly half of those deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
That is a threat to decades-long progress on ending preventable under-five mortality.
The estimate is based on an analysis by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health newly published in The Lancet.
Around 56,700 more maternal deaths could also occur in just six months, in addition to the 144,000 likely deaths across the same group of countries. The worst-case scenario, of children dying before their fifth birthdays, would represent an increase for the first time in decades.
Access to essential services, like routine immunization, has already been compromised for hundreds of millions of children and threatens a significant increase in child mortality.
*Indian Scenario*
There were 1.04 million under-5 deaths in India in 2017, of which nearly 50% (0.57 million) were neonatal deaths. The highest number of under-5 deaths was in Uttar Pradesh (312,800 which included 165,800 neonatal deaths) and Bihar (141,500 which included 75,300 neonatal deaths).
The infant mortality rate for India in 2019 was 30.924 deaths per 1000 live births, a 3.36% decline from 2018.
*India’s hunger statistics are among the poorest in the world. India was ranked 102 out of 117 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2019. As a comparison, India was ranked worse than Pakistan and Bangladesh.*
More than 19 crore Indians are undernourished (GHI 2019). More than 56 lakh Indian children (0-4 years), that is, 4.9%, are in the “severe wasting” category (UNICEF March 2020 report), which means that these children have an extremely low weight-to-height ratio.
Using UNICEF findings, an Indian Express report has claimed that more than three lakh children die due to starvation every year normally!.
*What can be done*
1. As argued by many economists, the government should immediately increase the availability of cooked and uncooked food, and increase cash support.
2. Provide help during the ongoing rabi harvest. In particular, this help must be extended to those agricultural products that are not procured by the government, such as fruits, vegetables, etc.
3. For better preparedness: Refer National Family Health Survey data online (the latest 2015-16 series), which provides district-level reports.
*“It is crucial that childbirth, child health, and nutrition services remain available for families during the time of COVID-19,”*
- Paul Rutter, UNICEF Regional Health Adviser for South Asia
reference:
1. https://www.deccanherald.com/national/covid-19-lakhs-of-indian-kids-to-die-as-regular-health-services-hit-by-pandemic-837295.html
2. https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/over-4-lakh-children-may-die-in-south-asia-in-next-6-months-india-to-be-worst-hit-warns-unicef-2616853.html
3. https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/under-five-mortality/
4. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/covid-19-pandemic-becoming-child-rights-crisis-as-6000-children-could-die-daily-unicef/articleshow/75731422.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
5. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/6k-children-may-die-daily-warns-unicef-84341
6. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/IND/india/infant-mortality-rate
7. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/the-hunger-challenge-of-the-lockdown/article31480844.ece
Story Research by : Nikhil Kuriakose
@1page4me
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