Covid 19 has had severe impacts on humanity, especially on the most vulnerable people. According to a statement from the World Bank and the World Health Organization, WHO, the health cost of Covid 19 "stuck" half a million people in extreme poverty around the world last year.

This is the worst economic crisis in health services since the 1930s, according to the statement. "Many people met health care costs out of their own pockets during the height of Covid-19," emphasize the two entities (World Bank, WHO).

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus stated that all governments must immediately resume and accelerate actions to "ensure that all citizens have access to health services without fearing the financial consequences."

The WHO official recalls that in 2019, before the pandemic, there were 68% of the world's population covered with prenatal and postnatal care and reproductive health services.

Immunization, treatment for diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, and diagnosis and care of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular issues, and diabetes were also part of the package.

But today with the pandemic, the scenario is chaotic. "The poorest people and those living in rural areas have been disadvantaged and less able to get health services and pay for them."

Information from the two institutions we have been quoting reveals that Currently, the percentage of families impoverished by direct health care spending, and who are already at or below the poverty line, reaches 90%.

For the World Bank and WHO, only when countries have an accurate picture of their health system's performance can they be able to direct actions towards improving the way they meet the needs of all people.

In the push for post-Covid-19 recovery, the new data offers a wake-up call and guidance for nations to keep their populations safe, healthy, and financially secure. Since the beginning of the crisis, the World Bank revealed that it has applied more than $157 billion to combat the health impacts of the pandemic in areas such as economy and society in more than 100 countries

And more than half of the 60 or so low- and middle-income beneficiary economies are in Africa.

Source UN News