The human cost of the Covid-19 pandemic was much greater than that recorded in the official death tolls, according to the World Health Organization's new World Health Statistics Report. The report estimates that in the period 2020-2023 there were about 22,1 million additional deaths from all causes worldwide, a number that far exceeds the approximately 7 million Covid-19 victims that had been officially reported.
According to the data, 2021 was the heaviest year of the pandemic, with additional deaths reaching 10,4 million. The report attributes this picture to the emergence of more deadly mutations of the virus, but also to the extreme pressure on health systems in many countries. In 2023, additional deaths fell to 3.3 million.
The WHO also notes that men were more affected compared to women, as the excess mortality rate was about 50% higher in men during the peak of the pandemic in 2021.
The effect of age was also particularly pronounced, with the elderly showing a much higher mortality. According to the data, the rates in people over the age of 85 were ten times higher than in younger age groups.
The report states that the pandemic reversed nearly a decade of progress in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy by 2021, characterizing the period as a historic setback for public health worldwide. Although there has been a recovery from 2022 onwards, the WHO points out that it is evolving at an uneven pace by region, gender and age.
At the same time, the organization warns that progress on the Sustainable Development Goals for health remains slow and uneven. Universal access to health services has slowed significantly since 2015, while around a quarter of the world's population continues to be financially burdened by private health spending.
