WE ARE UNITING BEHIND POOR COMMUNITIES AS THEY BATTLE THE CRIPPLING EFFECTS OF COVID-19
by Hannah Denys
Currently , most media attention
is focused on the U . S ., India , and Brazil – countries that are reporting the highest number of COVID-19 cases . But in the long run , it will be less-developed nations that are hardest hit by this deadly disease . And the poorest , most isolated communities in these countries will be the worst equipped to fight back .
On average , Pakistan has one doctor for every 963 people . *
That ’ s why , at Central Asia Institute , we ’ re uniting behind the children , women , and men in these communities . No one should have to battle the crippling effects of COVID-19 on their own .
WHERE HEALTH CARE IS OUT OF REACH
The COVID-19 infection rate is increasing dramatically in the developing world . In the fall of 2020 , developing nations accounted for three-quarters of the 100,000 new coronavirus cases reported each day . Yet even this startlingly high number is likely an undercount . A lack of testing in poorer countries makes it nearly impossible to get an accurate picture of the spread of the disease .
“ In the world ’ s most fragile settings , COVID-19 is still only getting going ,” said Mark Lowcock , the United Nations ’ Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator . “ We are months away from the peak . If it ’ s not checked , the virus will be free to circle the globe , to undo decades of development , and I think to create a generation ’ s worth of tragic and exportable problems .” He went on to say that the virus could infect up to 640 million people and kill 1.7 million people in the world ’ s most vulnerable , low-income countries .
(* Source : Pakistan Bureau of Statistics , 2018-19 )
FALL 2020 JOURNEY OF HOPE | 5