Kathmandu, May 6. The World Health Organization released figures on COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, estimating that approximately 15 million people died due to the infection.

The health body said that between 2020 and 2021, about 14.9 million people died due to direct and indirect causes of COVID-19. Governments around the world have only reported 5.6 million deaths. However, the data indicates that there were three times as many deaths.

While speaking about the shocking estimation of deaths, WHO Data specialist Dr. Samira Asma said, “It’s a tragedy … It’s a staggering number and it’s important for us to honor the lives that are lost, and we have to hold policymakers accountable … If we don’t count the dead, we will miss the opportunity to be better prepared for the next time.”

India rejects WHO estimates

The report also claimed that one-third of the global deaths occurred in India. The report indicates that India’s true death toll is around 4.7 million, ten times higher than the official record of the Indian government. Seeing the extra 9.5 million death estimates in India, the government of India has questioned WHO’s methodology in the study.

In a statement, the Indian government alleged that the WHO released the excess mortality estimates without appropriately addressing India’s concerns. “India had also informed WHO that in view of the availability of authentic data published through Civil Registration System (CRS) by Registrar General of India (RGI), mathematical models should not be used for projecting excess mortality numbers for India,” the statement said.