WHO says Bangladesh’s COVID toll is five times higher than official data. The health minister disagrees

The actual COVID-19 death toll in Bangladesh is at least five times higher than the figures reported by the Directorate General of Health Services, according to the World Health Organization.

However, the Ministry of Health rejected the WHO estimate released on Thursday that 140,764 people died in Bangladesh as a result of the pandemic as of 2021, claiming that its official count is correct.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the government would explain the matter.

“The COVID-19 death toll reported by the DGHS is correct. Mortality figures from non-communicable diseases may also have increased in this same period. We don’t have actual data on the deaths from such diseases, but we will take a look into the matter,” he said. 

The DGHS confirmed the first death from COVID-19 on Mar 18 2020. The state-run agency has reported 29,127 coronavirus deaths until Friday.

The WHO study shows that Bangladesh saw 46,051 excess deaths at the end of 2020. The number of excess deaths rose to 140,764 in 2021, the UN body said.

“The methodology of data collection used by the WHO is internationally accepted. The agency will have to clarify the sources of the data,” said Dr Mohammad Mushtuq Husain, adviser to the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research.

He believed that a segment of the higher fatalities estimated by the WHO is tied to coronavirus deaths.

“But the rest of the people died of various other diseases,” he added, citing that supplementary research is needed to figure out the actual toll out the various deaths in Bangladesh.

“It’s not challenging to figure out the number of deaths in Bangladesh through supplementary research as the government has information about funerals held at the graveyards and crematoriums. We will have to find out data about undetected COVID-19 deaths and the number of victims who had no access to treatment. We will be able to take action on the matter if the data is available.”

The COVID-19 death toll in India was nearly 10 times the reported figure, according to the WHO study.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government rejected the estimate that 4.7 million people had died in India as a result of the pandemic in 2021, when hospitals ran out of oxygen and beds due to a record wave driven by the delta variant.