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| Yemeni medical workers disinfect their hazmat suits outside a quarantine centre for COVID-19 patients in Yemen's third city of Taez on Jun 21. (Photo by=AFP/Ahmad Al-Basha) |
[아시아뉴스통신=레악카나 기자] More than 90 percent of countries have seen ordinary health services disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with major gains in medical care attained over decades vulnerable to being wiped out in a short period of time, a World Health Organization (WHO) survey showed.
The Geneva-based body has often warned about other life saving programmes being affected by the pandemic and has sent countries mitigation advice, but the survey yielded the first WHO data so far on the scale of disruptions. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on essential health services is a source of great concern," said a report on the study released on Monday (Aug 31). "Major health gains achieved over the past two decades can be wiped out in a short period."
The survey includes responses from between May and July from more than 100 countries. Among the most affected services were routine immunisations (70 percent), family planning (68 percent) and cancer diagnosis and treatment (55 percent), while emergency services were disturbed in almost a quarter of responding countries. Researchers think that non-COVID-19 deaths have also increased in some places due partly to health service disruptions, although these may be harder to calculate.The survey also warned that the disruptions could be felt even after the pandemic ends.
