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WHO calls on countries to ensure essential services amid COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has stretched the capacity of healthcare systems and medical facilities of various countries across the world to its maximum, with health workers struggling to cope up with the growing number of patients diagnosed with the highly contagious disease.
The situation has put non-COVID-19 patients at risk, prompting the World Health Organization to call on countries to ensure that essential services needed by patients with life-threatening diseases will not get compromised.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press briefing warned of the sudden rise of deaths related to vaccine-preventable and treatable conditions as health systems are overwhelmed, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
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“The COVID-19 pandemic is straining health systems in many countries,” he said stressing the need to follow the WHO guidelines for establishing separate coronavirus facilities during the surge to maintain the balance between providing access for patients needing routine vaccinations and patients diagnosed with the respiratory disease-causing virus.
“Babies are still being born, vaccines must still be delivered, and people still need life-saving treatment for a range of other diseases,” he added.
“Even though we’re in the midst of a crisis, essential health services must continue,” the UN health body chief pointed out.
Ghebreyesus also asked countries to require an adequate number of the health workforce to deal with essential health services including routine vaccination, care during pregnancy and childbirth, treatment for infectious and non-communicable diseases and mental health conditions, and blood services, among others.
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He also called on countries and companies to boost production and distribution of health products vita on saving lives during the global health crisis.
“We call on countries to work with companies to increase production, ensure the free movement of essential health products and ensure equitable distribution of those products, based on need,” he said.
“Specific attention should be given to low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America,” Ghebreyesus underscored.

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