UNICEF expects 20 million births in nine months in India

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 7

India will see most childbirths from March 11 to December 16 amid the Covid pandemic, UNICEF said today, advocating high priority to maternal and child health services as countries respond to the disease.

India will see 20.1 million child births in the nine months since the pandemic declaration, followed by China at 13.5 million, Nigeria at 6.4 million, Pakistan (5 million) and Indonesia (4 million).

Most of these countries have high neonatal mortality rates even before the pandemic and may see these levels increase with the virus conditions, UNICEF warned in a statement, saying pregnant mothers and babies born during the pandemic were threatened by strained health systems and disruptions in services.

UNICEF projected 116 million expected births in nine months and urged governments and donors to maintain life-saving services for pregnant women and newborns.

In a statement ahead of Mother’s Day, UNICEF said the babies are projected to be born up to 40 weeks after Covid – currently straining health systems and medical supply chains all over the world. Covid was recognised as a pandemic on March 11.

The childbirth analysis is based on data from World Population Prospects 2019 of the UN Population Division.

An average full-term pregnancy typically lasts complete 9 months, or 39 to 40 weeks. For the purposes of this estimate, the number of births for a 40-week period in 2020 was calculated. The 40-week period of March 11 to December 16 was used in this estimate based upon the WHO’s March 11 assessment that Covid can be characterised as a pandemic.

Trials to test herbs for Covid prevention

New Delhi: India launched two clinical trials on Thursday to study whether a range of medicinal herbs under Ayurveda could offer preventive and management potential against Covid. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched the studies saying while China used its traditional medicines on Covid patients, India continued to be hesitant to experiment with its time-tested Ayurvedic traditions “documented as superior to others since years”. The Interdisciplinary Ayush Research and Development Task Force has designed the clinical research protocols for this study. The trial involves studying four different interventions – Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu, Guduchi-Pippali and a poly herbal formulation. TNS