Estimates published by the World Health Organization revealed that the number of deaths recorded due to Covid-19, is actually three times the official statistics, noting that about 15 million people died from causes related to the disease.
India is the country that witnessed the largest death toll, according to a report published by the United Nations, Thursday, confirming that 4.7 million people died due to Covid-19 at the end of last year, ten times more than the official number recorded by the authorities by about 481,000 deaths, as deaths increased There have been around 524,000 cases in the country since that time.
The study was widely criticized in India, where officials denounced the scientific research methods used by the organization.
The Indian Ministry of Health criticized the study, Thursday, saying: “Despite India’s objections to the process, methodology and results of this modeling exercise, the World Health Organization has released the excess mortality estimates without adequately addressing India’s concerns.”
And the newspaper “The Wall Street Journal” quoted health experts as saying that many residents of India were infected with Covid-19, in their homes, and were unable to obtain tests to detect the virus, which hindered the registration of their deaths and linked them to the disease, especially when the “Delta” strain of the virus spread. Corona virus during the past year.
After India comes Russia, which recorded about 1.1 million deaths, followed by Indonesia with more than one million, and then the United States with 930,000 deaths.
The WHO study includes those who died directly from the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who died indirectly, such as people unable to obtain proper medical care for other diseases.
Statistical models were used taking into account factors such as local government, national data, demographics and policies related to Covid restrictions, according to the American newspaper.
Egypt among the highest African deaths
The American newspaper quoted the UN report that official statistics in Africa record deaths at a low rate, noting that the reality reflects otherwise.
The organization says that the number of missing deaths since the outbreak of the disease in 2020, is about 1.25 million deaths, which is five times higher than official statistics.
The study stated that three African countries were among the 20 countries that topped the number of global deaths, namely Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, which witnessed more than 80 percent of the estimated death rate globally, according to the “Wall Street Journal”.
Across Africa, the lack of detection of the virus and crumbling medical infrastructure have made it difficult to determine the true extent of the epidemic.
The African Union notes that official figures show that the continent has recorded only 11.4 million cases of Covid-19, with 25,000 deaths across a continent of 1.3 billion people.
Obtaining an accurate count of COVID-19-related deaths, including data such as demographics, locations, and time periods, can help countries judge the effectiveness of countries’ policies to combat the disease. The data can also be used to assess the severity of mutated strains of the virus and the effectiveness of vaccines. According to the newspaper.
“Knowing how many people have died from the pandemic will help us better prepare for the next pandemic,” said Dr. Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General for the Division for Data and Analytics at the World Health Organization.