UN: Women 'bearing the brunt' of COVID-19; ensure access to quality healthcare

According to a UN Women report, nearly millions of women and girls are "bearing the brunt" of the coronavirus pandemic due to a significant surge in the cases of domestic violence, disruptions in sexual and reproductive health services, income disruptions and mental stress.  Dr. Natalia Kanem, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund while addressing a virtual meeting organized by UN Foundation on Wednesday, September 16 reportedly said that COVID might potentially affect women empowerment. 

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The UNFPA tweeted, "Due to the #COVID19 pandemic, healthcare disruptions could stall decades of improvements. It is our responsibility to ensure that all women & girls everywhere have access to quality healthcare. Let’s make #SDGs #Goal3 a reality!". 

 

7 million unintended pregnancies

The United Nations Population Fund predicts that there could be as many as 7 million unintended pregnancies globally this year because of COVID-related lockdowns, as well as transport and personnel shortages that have made it impossible for many to access abortions and contraception over the past six months.

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According to the UNFPA, the major impact of the lockdowns for millions of women and girls around the world has been to limit their access to reproductive and sexual health services, particularly in developing countries. While quarantines and lockdowns have helped curb the coronavirus' spread, they have also heightened the danger to women who live with abusive partners or family members. The EU has said that domestic violence in some countries had risen by as much as 30 percent and the UN had referred the gender-based violence as the "shadow pandemic". 

The UNFPA projects nearly 31 million additional cases of violence against women and girls in a period of six months. It also said that the rate of femicides have doubled in certain countries. 

A UN Women report read, "As Covid-19 grips the world, market economy have shuttered, schools have closed, and nearly half of the global population is confined to their homes. Yet millions of care workers step out every day to keep the lights on and support those in need, for very low wages. Majority of these care workers are women – nurses, community health workers, nursing home staff, sanitation workers, laundry workers, and others – whose work has been serially undervalued and underpaid."

 

"This highlights a fundamental contradiction in our political economy; that we’ve put the least value on work that is most critical for survival of our economies, systems, and society."

 

As caregivers, women, and girls face higher risks of infection from Covid-19. Care work involves personal interaction where social distancing is difficult to practice. Globally, 70% of the poorly paid health care workers are women – in frontlines response – often without training or proper safety equipment.

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