India rebuts WHO’s excess Covid death estimate, questions model used for data collection

India on Thursday expressed its strong objections to figures shared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding coronavirus-related deaths in the country.

The global health said India reported 4.7 million excess Covid deaths between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, adding that the virus had claimed more than three times the number of lives than officially recorded worldwide – a total of approximately 14.9 million fatalities.

Soon after, WHO released its report, the Centre issued a rebuttal stating its objections to the use of “mathematical model for projecting excess mortality estimates in view of the availability of authentic data. It said the validity and robustness of the models used and methodology of data collection were questionable.

In the statement, it said that despite India’s objection to the process, methodology and outcome of this modelling exercise, WHO released the excess mortality estimates without adequately addressing India’s concerns.

It further said that India had informed the health body of the availability of authentic data published through the Civil Registration System (CRS) by the Registrar General of India (RGI), and that mathematical models should not be used for projecting excess mortality numbers for India. “Registration of births and deaths in India is extremely robust and is governed by decades old statutory legal framework,” it said.

The official Covid-19 death toll in India as on May 3 is 522,676.

The government said it had pointed out the inconsistencies in the criteria being used by WHO to classify nations into Tier I and II categories and the very basis for placing India into the second category.

India had raised the fact that given the accuracy of the Mortality Data collected through an effective and robust statutory system, India doesn’t deserve to be placed in Tier II countries. WHO till date has not responded to India’s contention, the government said.