The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Fears for India’s most vulnerable amid new COVID-19 wave that’s spreading like ‘wildfire’
A new wave of COVID-19 infections is spreading like “wildfire” across India, leaving many youngsters destitute, amid reports of four new cases every second and more than two deaths every minute, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF said on Friday.
In the last 24 hours, India registered 3,915 coronavirus deaths and 414,188 cases “which is the highest daily case count recorded by any country in the history of COVID-19 pandemic”, said Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Representative in India.
“UNICEF is of course very concerned about this deadly daily surge of in new cases,” she added. “This wave is almost four times the size of the first wave and the virus is spreading much faster. On an average, there were more than four new cases every second and more than two deaths every minute in last 24 hours.”
The UN official noted that health facilities have been overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, amid reports that pregnant women have struggled to find the support they need to give birth.
“With 27 million births and 30 million pregnancies every year, life-saving services to help women give birth are critical in India,” Haque said. “What is happening in India should raise alarm bells for all of us. The pandemic is far from over. COVID-19 cases are rising at an alarming rate across South Asia, especially in Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.”
Very low levels of vaccination in most South Asian countries - less than 10 per cent in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal – were also adding to concerns of the virus spiralling even further, the UNICEF representative maintained.
UNICEF is also concerned that the COVID-19 surge has also led to “dire consequences” for a greater number of children than during the first wave of infections, with access to essential health, social, protection and education services constrained.
“Children are facing mental health issues and are at greater risk of violence, as lockdowns shut them off from their vital support networks,” Haque explained.
Although there is no indication that the proportion of children getting infected is any different to the first wave, “the numbers are far greater”, she insisted. “We’re seeing the virus entering a household; it just takes one member of the household to be affected and it seems to spread like wildfire throughout the family.”
This has been accompanied by a likely spike in illegal adoption pleas on internet platforms by families desperate to find homes for orphaned relatives, prompting fears of child exploitation, the UN official explained.
Authorities were “beginning to pick up on numbers” of vulnerable children, the UNICEF official continued, in a call to promote family tracing and speedier help for destitute families.
“When we see that children are being orphaned and we do see that there is a lot of trafficking of children which is reported, children go missing, those systems are beginning to pick up on numbers and that’s where we’re trying to strengthen that there is a greater alertness around any family seeing that children have been affected get reported…While there isn’t enough data yet, we can see that illegal adoption pleas have surfaced on social media, making these orphans vulnerable to trafficking and abuse.”
ends
STORY: India – COVID-19 Alert - UNICEF
TRT: 02 min 23s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 7 MAY 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a cloudy day.
- Wide shot, TV broadcasting in foreground and podium to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Representative in India: “UNICEF of course is very concerned about this deadly daily surge of new cases. This wave is almost four times the size of the first wave and the virus is spreading much faster. On an average, there were more than four new cases every second and more than two deaths every minute in the last 24 hours.”
- Medium shot, attendee using listening device and taking notes, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Representative in India: “What is happening in India should raise alarm bells for all of us. The pandemic is far from over. COVID-19 cases are rising at an alarming rate across South Asia, especially in Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.”
- Medium shot, attendee sitting in front of laptop, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Representative in India: “On the numbers of children directly affected by the virus, we haven’t seen yet any indication that the proportion is any different to what we saw in the first wave, however the numbers are far greater; we’ve seen the virus entering a household; it just takes one member in the household to be affected and it seems to spread like wildfire throughout the family.”
- Close-up, attendee wearing glasses and face mask, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Representative in India: “When we see that children are being orphaned and we do see that there is a lot of trafficking of children which is reported, children go missing, those systems are beginning to pick up on numbers and that’s where we’re trying to strengthen that there is a greater alertness around any family seeing that children have been affected get reported.”
- Medium wide shot, attendees sitting in briefing room, Room XIV, Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Representative in India: “While there isn’t enough data yet, we can see that illegal adoption pleas have surfaced on social media, making these orphans vulnerable to trafficking and abuse.”
- Wide shot, podium in foreground and near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Representative in India: “Very low levels of vaccination in most South Asian countries (less than 10% in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal) is also adding to the concern of the virus spiraling even further.”
- Medium shot, TV broadcasting, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, attendees sitting in briefing room, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, speaker on podium in foreground and attendee typing on phone to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: In the fight against Ebola, bikers transporting dead bodies hold key to community engagement - WHO
From the frontlines of the deadliest-ever Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) shared details on Tuesday of a massive push for community engagement, a day after yet another ambulance attack.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA
Sudan: The harrowing reality of giving birth in a war zone
Sudanese women about to give birth are losing their babies and sometimes their own lives because of a lack of specialist healthcare support, amid the ongoing war, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Colombia earthquake: International teams ready to support, says UN
As earthquake rescue efforts across western Colombia continued on Tuesday, UN agencies said that they stood ready to help “with everything we've got” if and when the request came from the authorities.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | HRC
Myanmar's military has carried out a sustained campaign of deliberate attacks on civilians – including airstrikes on homes, schools and camps for displaced people, alongside arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence – Human Rights Council-appointed investigators said on Tuesday.
1
6
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
In a new twist on panda diplomacy, UN Geneva welcomed five young peacocks to the Palace of Nations on Friday, a gift of India that preserves a tradition of keeping the stately birds in the grounds, that predates both the global body and its ill-fated predecessor, the League of Nations.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Afghanistan’s hunger crisis intensifies as millions go without food aid – WFP
Afghanistan’s dire hunger crisis now affects 14 million people including babies fed on weak tea and a little bread by their despairing and dirt-poor parents.
In a new alert on Tuesday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that one in three Afghans is now in the grip of acute food insecurity and that it lacks the resources to contain the deepening crisis.
1
1
2
Edited News | IOM
From fake jobs to forced crime: IOM sounds alarm on human trafficking behind online scams
A job offer can conceal a criminal network and a single click can lead to a nightmare. Lured by false promises of legitimate employment abroad, hundreds of thousands of people are being trafficked each year, held captive and forced to carry out online scams.
Ahead of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons marked on 30 July, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is raising the alarm over a rapidly expanding multibillion-dollar criminal industry that turns job seekers into victims of forced cybercrime.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In Sudan’s El Obeid, women risk drone attacks by day and rape by night to access water
As war intensifies in the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan state, filling up a jerrycan of water comes at a high risk for women and girls: by day, drones strike water points and by night, women who venture out to fill a bucket risk rape. UN Women warns of a dual terror that has turned access to water into a deadly gamble.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo made the following remarks on stranded Hormuz seafarers abandoned for months at sea, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Danielle Bell, head of UN Human Rights’ Ukraine team, spoke of the deepening impact of the war on the civilian population.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks Intensified Israeli attacks in Gaza.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DR Congo: Ebola outbreak continues to expand, WHO sees signs of stabilization
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN health teams and partners are still racing to contain the rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak, despite ongoing insecurity in eastern areas where the virus has taken hold. As of 19 July, the DRC Government has recorded 2,423 confirmed cases, including 967 deaths and 469 patient recoveries.