Wednesday April 14, 2021
  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast
Versión Español
PanAm Post
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
PanAm Post
No Result
View All Result

Home » UNICEF Warns Coronavirus Lockdown Could Kill Nearly 1.2 Million Children

UNICEF Warns Coronavirus Lockdown Could Kill Nearly 1.2 Million Children

Mamela Fiallo Flor by Mamela Fiallo Flor
May 20, 2020

0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterTelegramWhatsapp
“I am concerned that lockdown measures have been copied between countries for lack of knowing what to do, rarely with any contextualization for the local situation.” (EFE)

Spanish – Up to 6,000 children could die each day from preventable causes around the world in the next six months, totaling more than 1.2 million. The cause: the impact of the closure of the economy due to the coronavirus on regular health services, warns the UN.

“This is, without doubt, the biggest and most urgent global crisis that children have faced since World War II,” said UNICEF UK Executive Director Sacha Deshmukh.

RelatedArticles

Three Key Moments to Remind Us That the UN Is a Nest of Oppressive Regimes

Chinese Regime Silences Relatives of COVID-19 Fatalities During WHO Visit

January 29, 2021
Maduro’s “Miracle Drops” Against COVID-19 Pass Twitter’s Filter

Coronavirus: More Than 150 Soldiers Test Positive After Biden’s Inauguration

January 26, 2021

The risk of children dying from malaria, pneumonia, or diarrhea in developing countries is very high due to the pandemic and “far outweighs any threat posed by the coronavirus,” UNICEF, the UN agency for children warned on May 13.

Infant mortality rates could increase by up to 45% due to coronavirus-related disturbances, while maternal deaths could increase by almost 39%.

These figures are supported by research by the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, which has been noted for compiling the most accurate figures on coronavirus infection. The research is available in the issue of the global health journal The Lancet.

In an interview with The Telegraph UK, UNICEF’s chief health officer, Dr. Stefan Peterson, said these figures were partly a reflection of strict restrictions in most parts of the world that prevent people from leaving their homes without documentation, making essential health care services inaccessible.

He warned that general blockades imposed on low- and middle-income people are not an effective way to control COVID-19 and could have deadly repercussions.

“Indiscriminate lockdown measures do not have an optimal effect on the virus,” he told The Telegraph. “If you are asking families to stay at home in one room in a slum, without food or water, that won’t limit virus transmission,” he said.

Unicef warns lockdown could kill more than Covid-19 as model predicts 1.2 million child deaths https://t.co/lDRwRVM0Qx

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 14, 2020

He added, “I am concerned that lockdown measures have been copied between countries for lack of knowing what to do, rarely with any contextualization for the local situation.”

He argues that we cannot try to impose the same standard for such different societies and realities. “The objective is to slow the virus, not to lockdown people.”

Starvation could kill more people per day than the coronavirus has in months

Due to restrictions on production, import, and movement of products, along with massive unemployment, an impending “hunger pandemic” will bring “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II,” World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley warned the United Nations Security Council.

The number of starving people could exceed the number of deaths from coronaviruses at 300,000 per day within three months. “I must warn you that if we don’t prepare and act now — to secure access, avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade — we could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months,” said Beasley, who recently recovered from COVID-19.

The Americas will be the hardest hit by unemployment

While much of the world focused its efforts on isolating the population to avoid massive contagion, the economy stalled, and about half of the world’s workforce could lose their jobs.

According to the latest report from the International Labour Organization (ILO), 1.6 billion people will lose their livelihoods as a result of the economic crippling effects of the COVID-19 quarantine.

In the first month of the health crisis alone, 60% of the income of informal workers was lost worldwide. Latin America and the Caribbean were hit the hardest, while in Africa, some 158 million people working in informal conditions, equivalent to 54% of total employment, saw their incomes reduced by up to 81%.

The loss of 12.4% of working hours in the second quarter will make the Americas the continent most affected by unemployment, compared to 11.8% in Europe and Central Asia. In the rest of the world, the loss of working hours is around 9.5%.

Although children have so far been the least affected by the lethality of COVID-19, the impact on the economy and mobilization restrictions have made them particularly vulnerable, more so when their parents are unable to support them.

That is why UNICEF warns that the impact is not just on the present but also at a historical level. It implies a step backward by decades in terms of the progress that has been made worldwide in eliminating preventable infant deaths.

Previous Post

Cuban to Send Indentured Medical Workers to Mexico

Next Post

Why Forced ‘Charity’ Is Bad Economics

Mamela Fiallo Flor

Mamela Fiallo Flor

Mamela Fiallo Flor is a translator for the PanAm Post. A university professor, translator, and interpreter, she is the cofounder of the Cuban Libertarian Party.

Related Posts

Three Key Moments to Remind Us That the UN Is a Nest of Oppressive Regimes
Asia

Chinese Regime Silences Relatives of COVID-19 Fatalities During WHO Visit

January 29, 2021
Maduro’s “Miracle Drops” Against COVID-19 Pass Twitter’s Filter
Coronavirus

Coronavirus: More Than 150 Soldiers Test Positive After Biden’s Inauguration

January 26, 2021
Argentina: Five Steakhouses in Buenos Aires You Don’t Want to Miss
Society

Argentina: Five Steakhouses in Buenos Aires You Don’t Want to Miss

January 21, 2021
Families, Not the Government, Should Regulate Big Tech
Analysis

Families, Not the Government, Should Regulate Big Tech

January 20, 2021
Biden Inauguration: Pandemic Show in a Fortified City
Policy

500 Children’s Lives at Risk due to Hospital Closure in Venezuela

January 20, 2021
Netflix’s “Death to 2020” Illustrates the Problem with Power
Analysis

Netflix’s “Death to 2020” Illustrates the Problem with Power

January 16, 2021
Next Post
Forced Charity, Bad Economics

Why Forced ‘Charity’ Is Bad Economics

Discussion about this post

Subscribe free and never miss another breaking story

  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy and Cookie Policy.