I appreciate the indulgence of the committee and I'm sorry for the Internet connectivity issues.
I'll continue on the three interrelated conclusions from the task force report.
First, while confirmed deaths from the coronavirus are approaching 1.5 million globally, the most damaging and long-lasting humanitarian consequences of this pandemic may not be from the virus itself. During the West Africa Ebola epidemic, more people died from the lack of regular medical care, particularly treatment for malaria, than were killed by the Ebola virus itself.
Even in nations that have yet to experience explosive growth in COVID cases and deaths, the pandemic is exacerbating poverty and inequities in health care access and food security. A recent survey of 18 African Union members found about half the respondents were delaying needed medical care or health care visits. A similar percentage reported difficulty in accessing medication in the pandemic. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network has estimated that the pandemic has coincided with a 25% increase in food assistance needs continent-wide.
The World Bank estimates 88 million additional people will be put into extreme poverty as a result of the COVID pandemic. In some regions like South Asia, higher economic growth may overcome some of that poverty it caused, but poverty in slower-growing economies in Africa and in fragile states like Venezuela is likely to persist.
National governments have failed to use multilateral forums effectively to forge a collective response to COVID-19 or its indirect health consequences. A strategic rivalry between China and the United States has undercut potential action at the G7, G20 and the United Nations Security Council.
The lesson here is that multilateral institutions do not spring magically into life during crises. Their success depends on the enlightened leadership of their member states that should be willing to put their differences aside and mobilize these bodies behind a collective effort.
The World Health Organization needs funding for its health emergencies program and should be required to report when governments fail to live up to their commitments. There needs to be a new global surveillance system to identify pandemic threats that is far less reliant on the self-reporting of early affected states.