The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the Covid-19 global pandemic could weaken health systems

New Delhi: The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the Covid-19 global pandemic could weaken health systems and disrupt regular services, killing at least 6,000 children a day in the next six months which could be stopped.

PhotoUNICEF says the number of children dying worldwide before the fifth birthday is expected to rise for the first time in decades.

UNICEF has requested 1.6 billion in humanitarian assistance for children affected by this global epidemic.

UNICEF said the health problem was rapidly becoming a child rights crisis and that 6,000 children under the age of five could die every day if immediate action was not taken.

Photo"Schools are closed, parents have no work and families are worried," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said on Tuesday.

"While we are imagining the world after Covid-19, these funds will help us deal with the crisis and protect children from its effects," she said.

She said the worst thing was that the number of children killed before their fifth birthday could rise for the first time in decades. In addition, another 56,700 mothers may die in six months.