WHO concerned about virus impact on women, youth

The head of the World Health Organization on Friday said that as the pandemic accelerates in developing countries, there were concerns about the coronavirus’ disproportionate toll on certain populations, including women at “heightened risk” of dying in childbirth. Secretary-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference that WHO was especially concerned about "the impact on people who struggle to access health services, often women, children and adolescents.”

"The indirect effects of COVID-19 on these groups may be greater than the number of deaths due to the virus itself," he said.

Due to the pressure placed on health systems, he added that women may face a "heightened risk of dying from complications of pregnancy and childbirth."

Dr. Tedros also said the U.N. health agency had recently investigated the risk of mothers spreading the coronavirus to their newborns and concluded that the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the risks of transmitting the virus, including among women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

While fragments of the virus had been found in breast milk, "we haven't actually identified live virus in breast milk," said WHO official Dr. Anshu Banerjee.

"The risk of transmission from mother to child, therefore, so far has not been established."

The health body's emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan confirmed that some countries which had already seen widespread transmission of the virus were now undergoing "a second wave or a second peak."

This was due to the lifting of restrictions "without adequate social distancing (and) measures in place," he said.