WHO: amid the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases were left without attention 
Due to the pandemic, people with noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are not receiving the treatment they need. This was revealed in a survey conducted in 155 countries. It covers the first three weeks of May. In addition, it is in this group of the population that COVID-19 tends to be especially severe, thus, these people are subjected to a double blow. 
“The results of the survey confirm the information that has been reaching us from different countries for several weeks now,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus. “Many people with diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes who need treatment have not been able to get it since the epidemic began.” He urged governments, even in the face of the fight against COVID-19, to find non-standard ways to provide ongoing care for patients with noncommunicable diseases.
The survey found that many countries have partially or completely suspended treatment for patients with hypertension (53 percent of countries), diabetes (49 percent), cancer (42 percent) and attacks of cardiovascular disease (31 percent).
In many countries, treatment of patients suffering from hypertension, diabetes, cancer and attacks of cardiovascular diseases has been partially or completely suspended.
Nearly two-thirds of countries have suspended rehabilitation services, although for patients recovering from serious complications from COVID-19, proper care is critical. In half of the countries, preventive measures for diagnosing, for example, breast and uterine cancers, have been postponed – in line with the original WHO recommendations.
Suspension of planned procedures, problems with transport, lack of medicines and diagnostic tools are among the reasons for this situation. In addition, in almost all countries, many doctors dealing with noncommunicable diseases have been referred to treating patients with COVID-19.
But, according to the WHO, it is encouraging that more and more countries are including the treatment of noncommunicable diseases in their national plans to combat COVID-19: this is 72 percent of developed countries and 42 percent of developing countries. And 19 percent of states allocate additional funding for this purpose. Many are also finding alternative ways to help those most in need, including advice by phone or online. WHO is pleased to note that more than 70 percent of countries surveyed collect data on patients infected with COVID-19 who also suffer from chronic diseases.
Dr Bente Mikkelsen, who heads the Division of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO, acknowledges that it is not yet possible to fully assess how the pandemic has affected people with chronic diseases.
“One thing is clear,” he adds, “not only are people with noncommunicable diseases more at risk of contracting severe COVID-19, many of them are unable to receive treatment for existing diseases.”
