India to bear largest share of costs linked to covid-19 in S. Asia: UN report
- Across South Asia, lower educational attainment by this cohort will result in a 15-23% decrease in future lifetime earnings, costing the region $63.5 billion over 45 years
NEW DELHI: India will likely bear the largest share of direct costs associated with covid-19 in South Asia, having to spend more than $7.8 billion on testing, and another $1.7 billion on healthcare utilisation by September 2021, a UN report has projected.
Released by UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the study said that till date, the disease is estimated to have cost South Asia more than 2.4 billion.
TRENDING STORIESSee All
Also Read | Why India needs to look east at Taiwan
“If the current status quo in terms of testing, and infection control and prevention, is maintained, the region is expected to spend an additional $8.1 billion on covid-19 diagnostic tests, and between $520 million and $2.4 billion on healthcare utilisation by September 2021, depending on the level of mitigation response instituted," said the study, adding that India is expected to bear the largest share of these costs.
The report pointed out that the disruption in education is also expected to have a considerable economic impact in the long term, and India will suffer the most of it in the region.
Across South Asia, the report said, lower educational attainment by this cohort will result in a 15-23% decrease in future lifetime earnings, costing the region $63.5 billion over 45 years. “The highest cost will be borne by India ($52.8). billion) and Bangladesh ($7.4 billion), followed by Sri Lanka ($1.9 billion)," the report said.
South Asia is home to approximately 420 million school-aged children who have been out of school since March last year. At best, only two of every three are being reached by remote learning, with children living in rural areas and poorer households less likely to be able to access remote learning.
The report also highlighted that India will also have the maximum school dropouts at 7,017,721 by September 2021.
MORE FROM THIS SECTIONSee All
Critical of the lockdowns in India, the report said that the current repertoire of interventions for covid-19 pandemic response has been defined by lead global health agencies focused on “flattening the curve" and curbing the pandemic, without much regard for the resulting fallout of economic and public health
“It remains to be seen if this was also a factor in the widespread transmission of covid-19 beyond major population centers in South Asia, especially India," it said. There are also intriguing elements of country-specific responses which suggest that the pandemic could have been brought under control reasonably well and with a more limited impact on economies, the report pointed out.
Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.