Print Magazine
Brussels Morning Newspaper
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • About Us
  • EU institutions
    • Commission
    • Parliament
    • Council
  • Europe
  • World
  • Economy
  • Culture and Society
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
Brussels Morning Newspaper
  • Home
    • About Us
  • EU institutions
    • Commission
    • Parliament
    • Council
  • Europe
  • World
  • Economy
  • Culture and Society
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
Brussels Morning Newspaper
No Result
View All Result
Home Europe

COVID-19 led to the disruption of 40% of healthcare services – WHO Europe

Marta Pacheco by Marta Pacheco
10 March 2022
in Europe
Hungary to ease lockdown after Easter, expects GDP growth in Q2

Covid-19 sign with parliament building in Budapest, Hungary. Coronavirus pandemic outbreak concept.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Around 40% of Europe’s essential health services were disrupted by COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic, a pattern that continued into 2021 the virus having a “disproportionate impact” on the mental health of Europeans, according to the Worlkd Health Organization.

The alert was raised in WHO’s European Health Report 2021, which asserts that a “critical window of opportunity” remains in which governments and national health authorities can take the necessary measures to minimise the impact of the pandemic on multiple levels.

According to the WHO Europe, during the first months of the pandemic, 40% of essential health services were at least partially disrupted, and that this continued in 2021, with the suspension of about 29% of these services.

“The impact of the pandemic on the health of the population goes beyond the impact of the disease itself.” Universal access to quality care “and the promotion and protection of the physical, mental and social health and well-being of the population in general” was also affected, the report states.

The WHO report said that the magnitude and extent of disruptions to national health services appeared to have decreased throughout 2021, but “cancellation of health care remains a serious problem and is associated with issues of staff availability and inpatient beds”.

Cancer screening

The report cites examples of breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening and treatment, which in most of the more than 50 countries that make up the WHO European region were partially disrupted and/or delayed.

“The number of cancer diagnoses has decreased significantly”, WHO states, pointing out that late cancer diagnoses and treatments have an impact on patient survival rates.

WHO acknowledges that data can vary on quantifying the increase in preventable cancer deaths, but highlights a UK study, which estimated that additional deaths in five years due to breast, colorectal, lung and of the esophagus are between 3,300 and 3,600.

“Policies for canceling [partial] non-urgent elective surgeries and/or reducing the length of hospital stay for patients have been implemented by many countries, including Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK”, according to the report.

 

 Mental health and inequalities

The report adds that the pandemic had a “disproportionate impact” on the mental health of Europeans, mainly affecting women aged between 18 and 24 and 35 to 44.

WHO also warns that the pandemic “is not affecting everyone equally”, since its direct and indirect effects “have been much more harmful to the health and well-being” of children, adolescents, women, the elderly, refugees and migrants, marginalised groups, people with long-term illnesses or disabilities, as well as those working in precarious jobs, or the unemployed and people living in poverty.

“While COVID-19 may affect everyone, it is not affecting everyone equally. It is important to realise that morbidity and mortality related to COVID-19 tends to follow a social gradient and is related to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age”, WHO contended.

COVID-19’s aftermath

Between 24 January, 2020, when the first case of COVID-19 was recorded in Europe, and 31 December,  2021, more than 102 million people out of a total of 929 million inhabitants in the WHO European region were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and about 1.7 million died from the infection.

“Fortunately, Europe has a roadmap to follow – our forward-looking five-year plan unanimously approved by member states in 2020”, Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, declared.

“The European Programme of Work recalibrates health priorities under key themes and pillars, envisaging united action for health by governments, civil society and other key partners”, he concluded.

Tags: Biweekly MartaMain-Slider

Latest post

The Brexit Final Act

Britain prepares law to override parts of Brexit treaty

16 hours ago
Berlin

What Are 10 Best Hotels In Berlin?

17 hours ago

Most Read

  • shutterstock_1821616664

    MEPs send Open Letter urging the Home Secretary Priti Patel to reject Assange’s extradition

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • These are the 10 highest paying jobs in the Europe in 2022

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Why corruption matters

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Brussels residents want to set up school for Ukrainian children

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Government approves route for ‘Mediatram’ from Meiser

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Facebook Twitter Youtube LinkedIn

About Us

Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.

Category

  • Ambassador’s Corner
  • Belgium News
  • Brussels
  • Commission
  • Council
  • Culture and Society
  • Diplomacy
  • Economy
  • EU Institutions
  • Europe
  • Europe With Transparency
  • Features
  • In Depth
  • Member States
  • Middle East Eye
  • Opinion
  • Our pick
  • Parliament
  • Place de la Bourse
  • Southeast Europe
  • Sustainable Perspective
  • The American Angle
  • The Macro-Economist
  • Uncategorised
  • US Elections
  • World

More info

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Cookies Policy
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ
  • Jobs

Brussels Morning Newspaper - All Rights Reserved © 2020

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • EU Institutions
    • Parliament
    • Commission
    • Council
  • Europe
  • World
  • Member States
  • Economy
  • Culture and Society
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • The American Angle
    • Southeast Europe
  • Print Magazine

Brussels Morning Newspaper - All Rights Reserved © 2020

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT