Study: Inequalities Make Poor More Likely to Die From COVID-19
2020-06-29
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1Researchers from Imperial College London say the chance of dying from COVID-19 rises with increasing poverty.
2They blame inequalities in society in poor countries for the increased risk.
3The coronavirus crisis continues to expand in many countries that are considered lower-income or lower-middle-income, such as India and Nigeria.
4Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center reports India, for example, has recorded over 440,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 14,000 deaths from the disease.
5The Imperial College researchers say "health inequities" mean that some groups are at greater risk.
6Health inequities are unfair or avoidable differences in health among different groups in society.
7The report looks at such inequities based on three measures: the availability of hand-washing places, the ability to work from home and the ability to go to a hospital.
8Peter Winskill was the lead writer of the report and spoke to VOA over Skype earlier this month.
9"We estimated on average a 32 percent increase in the probability of death from COVID-19 when comparing individuals from the poorest households to those in the wealthiest households," he said.
10The main reason for this, Winskill added, is a lack of the ability to go to a hospital and intensive care centers at hospitals.
11Poorer families also often live in larger households that include several generations.
12This makes it harder to protect older family members through social distancing.
13Other indirect effects of the health crisis also are harder on poorer people, Winskill said.
14He noted lockdown periods during important agricultural periods of planting and harvesting.
15The researcher said, "We also know from the data that individuals in poorer households in these areas also depend more on food grown themselves, so there are serious food security issues."
16In addition, COVID-19 has led to reduced health services for other diseases.
17Winskill said the research shows that deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria may increase over the next five years.
18He said there may be an increase of up to 10 percent for AIDS, 20 percent for TB and 36 percent for malaria deaths in areas with high level disease burden.
19The report says existing patterns of inequality mean the poorest are less able to protect themselves from infection.
20The report's writers urge governments to improve the availability of hand-washing and strengthen community health services.
21I'm Caty Weaver.
1Researchers from Imperial College London say the chance of dying from COVID-19 rises with increasing poverty. 2They blame inequalities in society in poor countries for the increased risk. 3The coronavirus crisis continues to expand in many countries that are considered lower-income or lower-middle-income, such as India and Nigeria. Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center reports India, for example, has recorded over 440,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 14,000 deaths from the disease. 4The Imperial College researchers say "health inequities" mean that some groups are at greater risk. Health inequities are unfair or avoidable differences in health among different groups in society. 5The report looks at such inequities based on three measures: the availability of hand-washing places, the ability to work from home and the ability to go to a hospital. 6Peter Winskill was the lead writer of the report and spoke to VOA over Skype earlier this month. "We estimated on average a 32 percent increase in the probability of death from COVID-19 when comparing individuals from the poorest households to those in the wealthiest households," he said. 7The main reason for this, Winskill added, is a lack of the ability to go to a hospital and intensive care centers at hospitals. 8Poorer families also often live in larger households that include several generations. This makes it harder to protect older family members through social distancing. Other indirect effects of the health crisis also are harder on poorer people, Winskill said. He noted lockdown periods during important agricultural periods of planting and harvesting. 9The researcher said, "We also know from the data that individuals in poorer households in these areas also depend more on food grown themselves, so there are serious food security issues." 10In addition, COVID-19 has led to reduced health services for other diseases. Winskill said the research shows that deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria may increase over the next five years. He said there may be an increase of up to 10 percent for AIDS, 20 percent for TB and 36 percent for malaria deaths in areas with high level disease burden. 11The report says existing patterns of inequality mean the poorest are less able to protect themselves from infection. The report's writers urge governments to improve the availability of hand-washing and strengthen community health services. 12I'm Caty Weaver. 13Henry Ridgwell wrote this report for VOA. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritte, Jr. was the editor. 14________________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16society -n. the people of a particular country, area, time, etc., thought of especially as an organized community 17income -n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc. 18household -n. the people in a family or other group that are living together in one house 19burden -n. something oppressive or worrisome 20pattern -n. something that happens in a regular and repeated way 21We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.