Paris (AFP)

As the world becomes hypnotized by the new coronavirus, other infectious diseases continue to kill millions of people, including many children in developing countries.

UNICEF, the United Nations program for children, said in April that with the suspension of vaccines, 117 million children are now at risk of getting measles.

"Health systems are so strained that in some places routine services have been suspended. Everything is dedicated to the fight against the Covid," Robin Nandy, head of the immunization service at the hospital, told AFP. Unicef. "States want to limit the contact of health professionals with potential patients".

Measles killed more than 140,000 people in 2018. Most of the victims were under the age of five.

More than 2,500 children also die every day from pneumonia, a bacterial infection that can be treated with effective and inexpensive drugs. More than 800,000 deaths could be prevented each year, according to studies.

In Nigeria, where pneumonia is the leading cause of infant death, there is concern that Covid-19 is already preventing many babies from accessing care.

"We see many children arriving with respiratory problems. Both diagnosis and treatment are problematic," said Sanjana Bhardwaj, Director of Health for UNICEF in Nigeria.

Even before the arrival of Covid-19, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was already suffering from several epidemics.

Measles has left 6,000 people dead, mainly killing children, since the last epidemic began in 2019. Malaria also threatens infants permanently, and kills around 13,000 people each year.

In April, the World Health Organization prepared to announce the end of the Ebola epidemic in the country. Alas, she had to delay her announcement with the appearance of new cases.

"There were already significant morbidities", along with malnutrition "which affects children hard," said Alex Mutanganyi, head of the fight against Covid-19 in the DRC for the NGO Save The Children. "The Covid has only increased the number of these threats."

- "diseases of the poor" -

Billions of dollars are invested in the search for a vaccine against Covid-19. Over 100 vaccines are under development, 70 of which are undergoing clinical trials.

On Wednesday, the Stop TB network warned that the containment measures imposed because of the coronavirus could cause up to 1.4 million tuberculosis-related deaths in parallel, the test and treatment campaigns being disrupted.

Tuberculosis remains the deadliest infectious disease on the planet, with around 10 million new cases a year, and 1.5 million deaths, even if treatments exist.

However, funding for research on tuberculosis is overwhelmed by the sums spent on AIDS and, henceforth, on Covid-19. The only vaccine available is 100 years old, and works only in very young children.

According to Lucica Ditiu, director of the Stop TB network, finalizing the development of an effective and universal tuberculosis vaccine could cost $ 500 million.

"We are amazed by this 120-day-old disease which already has 100 vaccines in development", against three for tuberculosis, she said. "It makes no sense".

"Tuberculosis does not affect many visible people. It is the disease of people with other weaknesses, poor people," says Lucica Ditiu.

- Chronic diseases -

Hundreds of millions of people also need medication on a daily basis to treat chronic illnesses, from diabetes to high blood pressure.

In late April, the Alliance on Non-Communicable Diseases (Alliance NCD) called on states to ensure that people living with these diseases receive their treatment despite the pandemic. Especially since these diseases can often cause complications in the event of contamination by Covid-19.

Among women, diabetes is the most deadly, according to Vicki Atkinson, head of the NCD Alliance in South Africa. So that we can live with it, if we have the right medicines on a daily basis.

Vicki Atkinson, who herself suffers from diabetes and psoriasis, has set up an information number to help patients obtain medication during confinement. He was overwhelmed with calls.

"A woman was told to take a two hour taxi ride to get medicine (...). Pregnant, on insulin and asthmatic, she refused," said the activist.

The Covid-19 "severely disrupted" supplies of medicines and paramedics, warned the NCD Alliance.

According to Vicki Atkinson and other experts, the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated what they have been saying for years: the world is not healthy, and "we can't pretend anymore."

© 2020 AFP