United Nations (United States) (AFP)

The fight against the coronavirus could have devastating indirect effects in poor countries as the death of 6,000 children every day in the next six months, warned UNICEF on Wednesday, calling for urgent action.

Worst of three scenarios in a study by Johns Hopkins University, up to 1.2 million children under five living in 118 countries could die in six months, victims of disrupted health coverage by efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19 disease, the UN agency said in a statement.

These deaths would add to the 2.5 million children in this age group who already die every six months in these countries.

Over the same period, up to 56,700 women could also succumb due to a drop in pre- and post-partum care, in addition to the 144,000 who are dying today.

The report would annihilate "decades of progress in reducing preventable deaths among children and mothers," said UNICEF director Henrietta Fore.

"We must not let mothers and children be the collateral victims of the fight against the virus" which has killed nearly 290,000 people worldwide, she added in a statement.

In countries marked by failing health systems, Covid-19 disrupts drug supply chains and access to food, and puts pressure on human and financial resources, says study, published in journal The Lancet Global Health.

The measures to combat the new coronavirus - containment, curfew, movement restrictions - and the concern of the populations are reducing the number of visits to health centers and vital medical procedures.

The study refers in particular to family planning, pre- and post-natal care, deliveries, vaccinations as well as prevention and care services.

Unicef ​​points out that, by mid-April, more than 117 million children in 37 countries may not have been vaccinated against measles after vaccination campaigns were interrupted by the pandemic.

South Asia would be the most affected region, ahead of sub-Saharan Africa and South America with particularly high balance sheets in Bangladesh, India, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.

We must "act now to stop the spread of the disease, help the sick and protect emergency personnel," says UNICEF, which calls on each country concerned to "continue working to limit the indirect effects on children" when the epidemic will have slowed down.

© 2020 AFP