The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that the Covid pandemic has caused the deaths of nearly 15 million people around the world.

The figure, according to WHO, represents 13% more deaths than normally expected over a period of two years. WHO is of the view that many countries undercounted the people who died from the coronavirus pandemic, as a figure of about 5.4 million was recorded.

In breaking the figures down, WHO revealed that in India, there were 4.7 million Covid deaths, a figure 10 times the official figures, and almost a third of Covid deaths globally.

How did WHO Come About the Figures?

The Indian government however questioned the estimate, saying it has “concerns” about the methodology, but other studies also came to similar conclusions about the scale of deaths in the country.

The measure used by the WHO is called excess deaths, which looked at how many more people died than would normally be expected based on mortality in the same area before the pandemic hit. These calculations also took into account, deaths which were not directly because of Covid but instead caused by its knock-on effects, like people being unable to access hospitals for the care they needed. It also accounted for poor record-keeping in some regions, and scarce testing at the start of the crisis.

But the WHO pointed out that the majority of the over 9.5 million extra deaths seen above the 5.4 million Covid deaths reported were thought to be direct deaths caused by the coronavirus, rather than indirect deaths.

Speaking about the scale of the figures, Dr Samira Asma, from the WHO’s Data Department, disclosed that “It’s a tragedy”.

“It’s a staggering number and it’s important for us to honour the lives that are lost, and we have to hold policymakers accountable. If we don’t count the dead, we will miss the opportunity to be better prepared for the next time.”
Dr Samira Asma – WHO’s Data Department

Other Countries With High Excess Death

The WHO figures also suggested that alongside India, countries with the highest total excess deaths included Russia, Indonesia, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. The numbers for Russia are three-and-a-half times the country’s recorded Covid deaths.

The report further looked at the rates of excess deaths relative to each country’s population size. The UK’s excess mortality rate, like America, Spain and Germany, was above the global average in 2020 and 2021.

Countries With Low Excess Mortality Rates

Countries with low excess mortality rates included China, which is still pursuing a “zero Covid” policy, through mass testing and quarantine, Australia, which imposed strict travel restrictions to keep the virus out of the country, as well as Japan and Norway.

The academics who helped compile the report admitted that their estimates are more speculative for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. According to them, this is because there is little data on deaths in the region. Additionally, there were no reliable statistics for 41 out of 54 countries in Africa.

Statistician, Prof Jon Wakefield, from Seattle’s University of Washington, who helped the WHO intimated that “We urgently need better data collection systems”.

“It is a disgrace that people can be born and die, and we have no record of their passing. So, we really need to invest in countries’ registration systems so we can get accurate and timely data.”
Prof Jon Wakefield, Statistician from Seattle’s University of Washington