Over Half A Billion Pushed Into Extreme Poverty During Pandemic: UN Report

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic might have halted nearly two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage, as per the latest reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Bank on December 12. The release further revealed how over half a billion people are also being pushed into extreme poverty due to the need to pay for health services from their own pockets.

The statistics launched on International Universal Health Coverage Day, points towards the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic on an individual's ability to get healthcare and pay for it as well.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a message on the day, had said that with the third year of the COVID pandemic approaching quickly.

"The shockwaves of this health emergency are hitting hardest those countries that lack health systems capable of providing quality, affordable care for all," Guterres was quoted as saying by ANI.

In case the world reaches the benchmark of achieving universal health coverage come 2030, there is need for a better commitment from governments to invest in and upscale proven solutions.

Consequences Of The Pandemic

Last year, the coronavirus pandemic massively disrupted the health services and challenged nations' health systems beyond their limitations. With this, for example, immunisation coverage went down for the first time in nearly ten years, and deaths from malaria and tuber tuberculosis also went up, stated the official release from the World Bank and WHO. The ongoing pandemic has also ignited the worst economic catastrophe since the 1930s, making things increasingly tough for everyone to pay for life-saving healthcare.

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