UN sounds alarm over COVID deaths of children in South Asia

Pandemic may have indirectly contributed to around 228,000 additional child deaths in 2020, UN report says.

The coronavirus pandemic may have indirectly contributed to around 228,000 additional child deaths in 2020, 11,000 maternal fatalities and 3.5 million unwanted pregnancies in South Asia, the United Nations has said in a report. The study, commissioned by UNICEF and published on Wednesday, blamed “drastic cuts in the availability and use of essential public health services” because of the pandemic across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, home to 1.8 billion people. “The fall-off of these critical services has had a devastating impact on the health and nutrition of the poorest families,” said UNICEF regional director George Laryea-Adjei.