Pandemic health costs have pushed half a billion people into poverty Coronavirus pandemic News

The pandemic disrupted health care worldwide and caused the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, according to the World Bank and the WHO.

More than half a billion people worldwide were pushed to the brink of poverty last year as health care costs were paid out of their own pockets during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization and the World Bank.

The pandemic disrupted health care worldwide and caused the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, making it even more difficult for people to pay for health care, a joint statement from the two organizations said on Sunday.

“All governments must immediately recover and accelerate their efforts to ensure that all their citizens have access to health services without fear of financial consequences,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Tedros called on governments to increase their focus on health care and to continue on the path to universal health coverage, as defined by the WHO in accessing the health services we all need without financial difficulties.

Health care is a significant political issue in the United States, one of the few industrialized countries that does not have universal coverage for its citizens.

Globally, the pandemic worsened and immunization coverage fell for the first time in 10 years, leading to an increase in deaths from tuberculosis and malaria.

“Within a limited fiscal space, governments will have to make tough choices to protect and increase health budgets,” said World Health, Food and Population Director-General Juan Pablo Uribe.

Outside the middle class

According to a Pew Research Center study released in March, it has been fueled by the pandemic 32 million Indians outside of the middle class, it’s defined by those who earn $ 10 to $ 20 a day.

The crisis has estimated that the number of poor in India, who earn $ 2 or less a day, has risen by 75 million.

In the meantime, a new one report The United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) reported on Thursday that an estimated 100 million more children were living in multidimensional poverty due to the pandemic, a 10% increase from 2019.

Henrietta Forek, UNICEF Executive Director, said the widespread impact of COVID-19 continues to increase, increasing poverty, eradicating inequality and threatening the rights of children.

“While the number of children who are starving, abused, abused or forced to marry is rising outside of school, the number of children with health care, vaccines, adequate food and basic services is declining. In the year we should be looking forward, we are going backwards, ”he said.