WHO pegs the global death toll from Covid-19 at 14.9 million

  • May 6, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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WHO pegs the global death toll from Covid-19 at 14.9 million

Subject: International relations

Context: India is among the top countries accounting for excess deaths

Concept:

The World Health Organization has estimated the global death toll associated with Covid at 14.9 million, more than double the reported number between January 2020 and December 2021.

And India, with an estimated 4.7 million deaths in this period, featured among the top 20 countries accounting for 80 per cent of the excess mortality.

The estimated global and Indian death toll was higher than the numbers reported to the WHO at 5.4 million and 4,81,000 for the period.

India, though, had pushed back on the data and methodology of the WHO in estimating the overall toll.

Response of India to WHO

WHO has released the excess mortality estimates without adequately addressing India’s concerns.

India had also informed WHO that in view of the availability of authentic data published through the Civil Registration System (CRS) by Registrar General of India (RGI), mathematical models should not be used for projecting excess mortality numbers for India

In past consultations with the WHO,

India had questioned the reliance on Global Health Estimates (2019) to arrive at India’s final toll and the classification of the country under Tier II, indicating countries where mathematical modelling estimates were used due to the absence of consistent data.

Global Health Estimates (2019)

WHO’s Global Health Estimates (GHE) provide the latest available data on death and disability globally, by region and country, and by age, sex and cause. The latest updates include global, regional and country trends from 2000 to 2019 inclusive. By providing key insights on mortality and morbidity trends, these estimates are a powerful tool to support informed decision-making on health policy and resource allocation.

About WHO –

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
  • The WHO Constitution states its main objective as “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health”.
  • Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.
  • It is an inter-governmental organization and works in collaboration with its member states usually through the Ministries of Health.
  • The WHO provides leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
  • A publication, the World Health Report, provides assessments of worldwide health topics.

Its role in public health –

  • providing leadership on matters critical to health and engaging in partnerships where joint action is needed;
  • shaping the research agenda and stimulating the generation, translation, and dissemination of valuable knowledge;
  • setting norms and standards and promoting and monitoring their implementation;
  • articulating ethical and evidence-based policy options;
  • providing technical support, catalysing change, and building sustainable institutional capacity; and
  • monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.
  • CRVS (civil registration and vital statistics) to provide monitoring of vital events (birth, death, wedding, divorce).

Governance –

  • World Health Assembly
    • The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the legislative and supreme body of WHO.
    • Based in Geneva, it typically meets yearly in May.
    • It appoints the director-general every five years and votes on matters of policy and finance of WHO, including the proposed budget.
    • It also reviews reports of the executive board and decides whether there are areas of work requiring further examination.
  • Executive Board
    • The Assembly elects 34 members, technically qualified in the field of health, to the executive board for three-year terms.
    • The main functions of the board are to carry out the decisions and policies of the Assembly, to advise it, and to facilitate its work.
  • Director-General
    • The head of the organization is the director-general, elected by the World Health Assembly.
    • The term lasts for five years, and Directors-General are typically appointed in May, when the Assembly meets.

How WHO is funded?

  • WHO gets its funding from two main sources: Member States paying their assessed contributions (countries’ membership dues), and voluntary contributions from Member States and other partners.
  • Assessed contributions (AC) are a percentage of a country’s Gross Domestic Product (the percentage is agreed by the United Nations General Assembly). Member States approve them every two years at the World Health Assembly. They cover less than 20% of the total budget.
  • The remainder of WHO’s financing is in the form of voluntary contributions (VC), largely from Member States as well as from other United Nations organizations, intergovernmental organizations, philanthropic foundations, the private sector, and other sources.
  • Core voluntary contributions (CVC)
    • Core voluntary contributions are fully unconditional (flexible), meaning WHO has full discretion on how these funds should be used to fund the programmatic work of the Organization.
    • These represent 3.9% of all voluntary contributions.

Mandatory Assessed Contributions, 2020 in $ millions –

Mandatory Assessed Contributions

International Relations WHO pegs the global death toll from Covid-19 at 14.9 million