UN says over half a billion people pushed to extreme poverty; underscores impact of COVID

Over half a billion people across the globe were pushed into extreme poverty in 2020 as they had to pay the cost of healthcare from their own pocket amid the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, stated the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank on Sunday. The findings were launched by the United Nations (UN) agencies on International Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December and it underscored the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on people’s ability to obtain appropriate healthcare and pay for the same. 

The reports also suggested, according to the UN, that the COVID-19 pandemic is “likely to halt two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage”. In his message marking the Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that with the third year of the pandemic approaching rapidly, “we must urgently strengthen our health systems to ensure they are equitable, resilient and capable of meeting everyone’s needs, including for their mental health.”

He added that “the shockwaves of this health emergency are hitting hardest those countries that lack health systems capable of providing quality, affordable care for all.”

UN on reaching universal health coverage by 2030

In a statement, the UN stated that if the world is to reach the goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030, there “needs to be a greater commitment from governments to investing in and scaling up proven solutions.” UN chief Guterres explained, “This means making more and smarter investments in the foundations of health systems, with an emphasis on primary health care, essential services and marginalized populations.”

WHO news release also stated that last year, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the health services and stretched the nations’ health systems beyond their set limits. As a result, for instance, the UN health agency added, that the immunization coverage also plunged for the first time in a decade, the deaths from Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria surged. Additionally, the pandemic also triggered the worst economic crisis since the 1930s and made it more challenging for people to pay for lifesaving health care.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted, “There is no time to spare…All governments must immediately resume and accelerate efforts to ensure every one of their citizens can access health services without fear of the financial consequences.”

“This means strengthening public spending on health and social support, and increasing their focus on primary health care systems that can provide essential care close to home,” he added.

(IMAGE: AP/Representative)