10 October Seminar: Democratization and Excess COVID-19 Mortality in the EU and the CIS
For the fourth Pandemics & Society Seminar of our Fall 2024 series we are pleased to welcome Umit Tleshova (Charles University). The seminar will be held on Thursday, 10 October at the normal time (1600 CEST). More information about our speaker and the presentation is below. You can sign up for email notifications about the seminar series, including the Zoom details, here.
Abstract
In the midst of the challenges brought about by COVID-19, it is crucial to evaluate excess mortality to effectively respond to public health needs. This research explores how mortality data has been censored in 18 countries that were previously under communist regimes until the 1990s, with a specific focus on the impact of democratization. The Democracy Index (DI) was used as a parameter, building upon previous studies that have linked democratic governance with mortality outcomes. By computing and analyzing excess mortality from January 2020 to the end of 2021, compared to the previous five years, we utilized common databases such as the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations World Population Prospects (UN WPP), and the World Mortality Dataset (WMD). We observed an interplay between DI and the undercount ratio of COVID-19 deaths within several independent states; however, our findings did not reveal any correlation between excess mortality and DI levels.
About the Speaker
Umit Tleshova is a PhD Student at the Department of Demography and Geodemography in the Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia. She conducted research on COVID-19 excess mortality data sources and their connection to political regimes among 17 countries in cooperation with Prof. Doc. RNDr. Dagmar Dzúrová and Dr. Klára Hulíková Tesárková. She obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Bolton, dedicating her field research to the socio-economic challenges faced by women in Nairobi, Kenya. She focuses on global population challenges and is currently dedicating her doctoral research to studying Covid-19 mortality data in countries with a communist history in the EU and CIS.