Direct and indirect effects of the covid-19 pandemic and response in South Asia

Direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and response in South Asia

Content

Foreword

Chapter 1: Background

Chapter 2: Methods

Chapter 3: Results

Chapter 4: Implications and Way Forward for South Asia

Conclusions

Glossary

References

Supplementary tables

Appendix A

Appendix B

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5

Foreword

Over recent decades, South Asia has made remarkable progress in improving the health of mothers and children. Access to life-saving interventions has been expanded, and so millions of needless deaths have been prevented.

The year 2020 brought a great shock to South Asia, as it did to the whole world. The COVID-19 pandemic has had major and multiple impacts – both direct and indirect.

© UNICEF/Afghanistan/UNI368583/Fazel/2020

One of the critical indirect impacts has been severe disruptions to the delivery and use of routine services, including essential health and nutrition services. Health systems, which were already stretched in many parts of the region, were not ready to adjust swiftly to the shock. Women and children suddenly faced limitations in accessing facilities. The region saw significant drops in the use of both preventive and curative services. As detailed in this report, Direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Asia,

the pandemic has undoubtedly resulted in more deaths and more illness – particularly for the most vulnerable women and children. The pandemic is also reversing the development gains made over recent years and risks a negative impact

on the overall wellbeing of the population for years to come. It reduces the likelihood of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

In South Asia, millions have fallen sick from COVID-19, costing thousands of lives and costing countries billions of dollars. The basic public health tools are key – starting

with physical distancing, hand washing, and mask wearing. This report computes the potential to save lives and minimize health care costs by further strengthening the implementation of these across the region.

COVID-19 is likely to remain a significant public health problem for some time. Governments need to achieve a difficult balancing act. They need to continue combatting the pandemic, whilst also minimizing the disruption of the economy and of critical health and other services. This is crucial for the health and well-being of the most vulnerable people. Evidence to help guide this balancing act is urgently required to help guide decisions on how to calibrate

COVID-19 mitigation measures.

UNICEF has a mandate to be a voice for every woman and child. In line with this, and to address the critical need for actionable information, we commissioned this study to assess and report on the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and response. The study focuses on the six most populous countries in South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This report will be of value for policy makers, program managers and other stakeholders in prudently fighting the pandemic while increasing the reach to women and children with quality services.

This report is also a call for action. It is a call to governments and to partners. We must urgently come together to address the imperative for focused investment and effort – to strike the difficult balance in the months and years ahead, for the sake of the region’s most vulnerable women and children.