New Delhi: There is a sense of growth that the official count of Covid-19 death is underestimated in South Asia, including India and does not reflect the actual scale of pandemic, the latest World Bank report shown on Thursday.
“The Undercount of Deaths can be very severe for developing countries,” the World Bank’s autumn economic update 2021 for South Asia.
A box in the main report entitled “Alternative Action of Death Covid -19,” Brings the latest research that has tried to estimate death undercounting which is a global problem.
Citing official data, it was said that the South Asia region contributed 17% of the Global Covid-19 cases and more than 11% of deaths.
It is said that the total count of official deaths from Covid in the region has exceeded half a million.
It quotes several reasons for the possibility of undercounting deaths in South Asian countries.
First, because of the extraordinary health system, many Covid deaths occur at home or indirectly caused by crisis conditions, and this is expelled from the official count.
Second, because of inadequate testing, especially in rural areas, official count in many countries does not include covid victims who do not test the positive Coronavirus before death.
Third, the system to maintain vital records is outdated.
It might be taken to the hospital and civil registration days or even weeks to process the death certificate, creating delays in data, the report said quoting several studies.
The box in this report also moves the graph based on the IhmM database titled “The advantages of India Covid-19 deaths are growing rapidly than other South Asian countries.” Pandemi Covid-19 said revealed many shortcomings in the health system in the world and South Asia and identified accounting deaths as one of them.
The report said that infection reporting and timely death gave a picture of a scale of pandemic and helping to divert medical resources to their place needed.
“When countries take stocks and prepare for other Covid-19 waves that are possible, building a reporting system and sharing of information can be part of these efforts,” the report said.
It is said as an alternative action, excess mortality is considered a more comprehensive and strong death measure.
The concept is not new.
This is defined as an increase in the number of deaths from all causes during the crisis relative to the expected death in “normal” conditions.
The advantages of mortality can be very useful for calculating covid-related deaths.
This includes not only confirmed death but also covid related deaths that are not diagnosed and reported correctly, as well as deaths that are indirectly caused by the crisis conditions, the report said.
“With a box in our report giving a summary of the latest studies that tried to estimate death undercounting, which was a problem around the world during the Covid-19 crisis.
There are several reasons why undercounting can be more severe in developing countries.
This includes a tremendous health system.
, Inadequate testing during the initial Covid period, and a system that has been obsolete to maintain vital records, “Hans Timmer, the head of the World Bank economist for South Asia said in an email reply when asked whether the report referred to Covid-19 death undercounting in India.
“These studies use official data and surveys, as well as statistical modeling.
They found that Covid’s related deaths reported in various countries (ie, both confirmed deaths from Covid and death were not diagnosed / reported correctly and which were indirectly caused by the health crisis , For example the health care system) can be a multiple of recorded numbers, “Timmer said without giving the name India.
‘The official number of Covid deaths is underestimated in South Asia’
