Nepal needs emergency assistance as the coronavirus cases continue to surge and deaths are mounting, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organisation's director-general, said during a press briefing.

Calling the situation in India “hugely concerning”, he said, “it’s not only India that has emergency needs. Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Egypt are just some of the countries that are dealing with spikes in cases and hospitalizations.”

In the last few days, the Himalayan country has been reporting over 8000 cases daily, and the active caseload has crossed the 1,00,000 mark. Hospitals are unable to cope with exploding cases of fresh infections, with hospitals across the country are reporting a shortage of Oxygen. 

Highlighting the inequitable distribution of vaccines, he said, “I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to COVAX.” 

He further added that low and middle-income countries are even struggling to inoculate their own health care workers. Only 0.3 percent of the total vaccine supplies are going to low-income countries, he pointed out.

(SAM)