The corona pandemic has killed about 15 million more people worldwide than would have been the case without the virus outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. The so-called excess mortality calculated by the UN organization is the sum of the direct and indirect deaths attributable to the pandemic.
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So it concerns both people who have died from Covid-19 and people who have died as a result of the negative effects of the pandemic on healthcare and other parts of society. The lack of administration in some regions has also been taken into account, for example.
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The WHO estimates cover the period from early 2020 to the end of 2021. The WHO takes into account a margin: the actual number is somewhere between 13.3 million and 16.6 million deaths. The middle of that is almost 15 million. This number is much higher than the official number of corona-related deaths that governments have recorded. That was 5.4 million at the end of last year. In the course of this year it has increased further to 6.2 million.
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“Sobering Data”
According to the WHO, this is “sobering data” that shows the need for more investment in health care so that vital treatments should not be delayed in times of crisis. “We are committed to working with other countries to improve their health systems to generate better data for better outcomes,” said CEO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
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Excess mortality is the difference between the actual mortality and the mortality that would be expected in a normal year. Relatively many people have died, especially in Southeast Asia, Europe and North and South America.
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Globally, more men than women (57 percent versus 43 percent) died from the effects of the pandemic. Of the people who lost their lives as a result of the pandemic, 53 percent came from lower-to-middle-income countries. In countries such as Egypt, India and Pakistan, the actual death rates are eight to 11 times higher than the official figures, according to the UN agency.
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The WHO experts have taken into account that a certain number of deaths have been prevented as a result of the corona restrictions. This concerns, for example, fewer traffic accidents and accidents at work because people worked from home more and there was a curfew in many places.
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India
According to WHO figures, India has been hit by far the hardest of all countries. There were 4.7 million deaths due to the pandemic, the scientists who compiled the report estimate. The British public broadcaster BBC writes that the Indian government is questioning the WHO estimate and says it is concerned about the methodology.
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