World Bank fears ‘secondary’ health crisis

Diverting the scarce healthcare resources of developing countries to the rapidly expanding COVID-19 pandemic could see a 45 percent jump in child and maternal mortality before the end of the year, an international health consortium warned Thursday.

Unless poorer nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America get a rapid infusion of drugs, medical oxygen, protective equipment and on-the-ground assistance, the global South is likely see 1.2 million children and 57,000 mothers die over the next six months, according to a study under review by The Lancet Global Health.

The new coronavirus outbreak "could reverse decades of progress," said Muhammad Ali Pate, global director for health, nutrition and population at the World Bank and director of the Global Financing Facility.

"If routine healthcare is disrupted -- as a result of unavoidable shocks, health system collapse, or intentional choices in response to the pandemic -- the increase in child and maternal deaths will be devastating," the authors said in a draft submitted for peer review.

While Europe and North America have felt the brunt of the pandemic, with some two million confirmed cases out of a world total of 2.6 million, lockdowns have slowed its spread on these continents even as the virus picks up pace elsewhere.

In Africa, the week leading to April 21 saw a 43 percent jump in COVID-19 cases and a 38 percent increase in the number of COVID-19-related deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported Wednesday.