As the world focuses on the Covid-19 epidemic, other infectious diseases continue to claim millions of lives, including many children in developing countries.
In April, UNICEF said 117 million children were at risk of measles due to suspension of vaccination campaigns.
"Health systems are under great pressure, which has stopped routine health care. Everything is focused on fighting Covid-19. Countries want to limit health workers' communication with potential patients," said Robin Nandi, director of the WHO's vaccination department.
Measles claimed more than 140,000 people in 2018, the majority of them under the age of five.
More than 2,500 children die every day from acute pneumonia or bacterial infection, which can be treated with appropriate and affordable medicines. According to several studies, more than 800 deaths can be avoided annually.
In Nigeria, where pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children, it is feared that Covid-19 prevents many young people from obtaining the necessary care.
"We see many children praying with breathing problems. Diagnosis and treatment are both a problem," said Sanjana Pardwaj, director of health at UNICEF in Nigeria.
Before the spread of Covid-19, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was plagued by several epidemics.
Six thousand people, the majority of them children, have died from measles since the start of the latest outbreak in 2019. Malaria is a constant threat to infants and kills 13,000 people annually.
In April, the WHO was preparing to announce the end of the Ebola epidemic in the country but had to delay the announcement due to new cases being recorded.
"There was substantial death mainly" with malnutrition "which hit children hard. And Covid increased the threats," said Alex Mutanaghani, Covid-19 anti-DRC official in the non-governmental organization Save the Children.
Billions of dollars are being invested in the search for a vaccine for Covid-19 disease. More than 100 vaccines are being developed, of which 70 have been clinical trials.
On Wednesday, Stop TPB (Stop Tuberculosis) warned that imposed quarantine measures could result in 1.4 million TB-related deaths due to hampering screening and treatment campaigns.
Tuberculosis remains one of the most deadly infectious diseases in the world, with 10 million new cases recorded annually and 1.5 million deaths, even as treatments are available.
But funding research on tuberculosis is a victim of the big money devoted to AIDS and now for Covid-19. The only vaccine available is a hundred years old and is only useful for young children.
Lucia Ditio, director of Stop TB, said that implementing a new TB vaccine is effective and covers everyone costs half a billion dollars.
"The world is astonished by this 120-day disease, with the development of 100 vaccines," compared to only 3 vaccines for TB. "This is nonsense," she stressed.
She stressed that "TB does not affect visible people. It is the disease of the poor."
Hundreds of millions of people need medication on a daily basis to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes and arterial hypertension.
At the end of April, the non-communicable diseases coalition called on countries to verify that people with these diseases receive treatment despite the pandemic, especially as these diseases may lead to complications in the event of Covid-19 infection.
In women, diabetes remains the most deadly disease, as confirmed by Vicky Atkinson, the official in this coalition in South Africa, although it can coexist with him if the right medicines are available.
Vikki Atkinson, who suffers from diabetes and psoriasis, has put a telephone line at the disposal of patients to help them find medication during the stone period and an overwhelming number of contacts have been received.
"The woman was told to take a taxi for a two-hour trip to bring the medicines while she was pregnant, we had insulin injections and she had asthma ... and she refused," said the activist.
The coalition has warned that Covid-19 disease "seriously compromises" the supply of medicines and supplies.
Vicky Atkinson and other experts said the Covid-19 pandemic had proven what they had been warning about for years, meaning the world was not in good health "and we can't pretend that anymore."