The coronavirus pandemic is no doubt one of the worst dangers modern humanity has faced all over the world. Other than claiming lives across the globe, the Covid-19 pandemic also presents another quite different type of danger. This danger has been highlighted by both Unicef and the WHO which say that the pandemic has stripped them of resources and attracted attention away from other global diseases and towards the virus, creating a situation where other dangerous diseases which kill children in particular are being neglected.
As an example, UN officials have pointed to Nigeria where the attention remained focused on Covid-19, and has drawn away attention from efforts to eradicate or keep under control other diseases including measles and yellow fever which kill children each year in that country. The same problem is seen in countries around the world, causing a problem which could have long-term effects. In Pakistan we have seen the drive against polio being hit very badly by the coronavirus which has made it impossible to reach many children and to keep up the effort made to eradicate the disease by ensuring every child receives the necessary vaccination. It will take a long time to recover from the setback caused by this problem which hit the world so suddenly and with such lethal consequences.
In Nigeria, the UN says that 54 percent of children are still to receive the second dose of the measles vaccine which is essential to making it effective in keeping away the disease. This is not the only problem faced by one of the poorest countries in the world. The yellow fever vaccine program intended to protect children against the disease which is rampant across Africa has also been affected – with the result that Nigeria alone has recorded 70 fatalities due to the disease. This is not a problem that is going to be resolved very quickly. World leaders need to recognise the requirement for more funding as well as changed tactics so that apart from the coronavirus other diseases can also be kept in check and finally defeated.
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