Healthcare is being hit hard by the pandemic. COVID-19 has disrupted services for the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases, could disrupt essential interventions for malaria, and has put an enormous amount of pressure on health systems.
But, as we’ve seen with education and work, the pandemic could have an even greater, disproportionate impact on healthcare for women and girls, specifically maternal, reproductive, and contraceptive care.
Here’s why.
Previous health crises impacts on women and girls’ health
Prior to COVID-19 in 2017, over...
Arielle Witter
Even before COVID-19 hit, 90% of children in low-income countries could not read and understand a simple story when they reached their 10th birthday. In Nigeria, three-quarters of primary teachers cannot pass a fourth grade test. The onset of COVID-19 is exacerbating the global learning crisis.
At its peak, COVID-19 pushed 1.6 billion children out of school. By October, schools in 92 countries will remain closed. These months of lost learning disproportionately affect the poorest and the most marginalised. In...
To ensure that the world responds effectively to COVID-19 and the challenges it has presented, world leaders, companies, and individuals need to come together in a single response effort — a global pandemic of this magnitude demands a global response.
Finding an effective vaccine is a key part of a global response plan. But that is only half the battle.
After an effective vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available, world leaders must come together to ensure there is equitable access to a...
The UN General Assembly is bringing together world leaders this week, all with the hope of making the world a better place for everyone, no matter where they are from.
At this year’s UNGA, one topic is overshadowing events and speeches: COVID-19. The global pandemic has highlighted challenges and inequalities around the world, one of which is gender inequality. The pandemic’s effects could lead to disproportionate impacts on women’s work, girls’ education, and much more.
That’s why we’re highlighting nine female...
Megan Gieske is a storyteller and photographer based in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ntombi Mbinda gestures around the kitchen in her home; it’s a room only of women. One woman bends over a pot, stirring the day’s rice. Another cuts vegetables, their headwraps shine brilliantly in the slanting light of the afternoon sun.
The women — Theodora, Lorna, Phindiwe, Nobuntu, and Noxolo — arrive every weekday at 8:30am to begin cooking from Ntombi’s home. Outside the kitchen, a garden Ntombi planted...
After the COVID-19 pandemic started, we launched our ONE World campaign, calling for the world to come together to create one global response to the pandemic, as a crisis of this scale requires a global response.
Of course, in times of crisis, strong leadership is of the utmost importance. COVID-19 is a global crisis that requires a strong, coordinated global response from leaders. Unfortunately, the world hasn’t seen many global leaders step up in the appropriate way.
ONE CEO Gayle Smith,...
COVID-19 has impacted almost every aspect of our global society, and people around the world are feeling these effects.
While the fatality rates have disproportionately affected men — the case-fatality ratio (which is “the proportion of individuals diagnosed with a disease and die from that disease”) is 2.4 times higher for men than women — women and girls are among the most vulnerable socially and economically compared to their male counterparts. From being more likely to work in the informal...
Helene Gayle is a US doctor, CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, and the former CEO of CARE. We interviewed her as part of our #PassTheMic series. Here’s some of what she had to say.
A coordinated global response to COVID is critical. This is a global pandemic and without global cooperation, we will not be able to have the effect that is so necessary in this ever more interconnected world. COVID has shown us, perhaps more than any other...
When responding to a global crisis, good leaders and leadership is essential. Pandemics and health crises know no borders and can affect entire populations. However, having strong leaders can significantly impact how and how well a country responds.
To tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, we need strong leaders, globally and locally. One quality that leaders must possess in order to effectively respond to the crisis is being able to take decisive, urgent action. Urgent decision-making is a fundamental part of being...
“UBUNTU,” is a word from the Xhosa language that loosely translates as “I am because you are.” It’s a word that expresses the solidarity of all people, made famous by Nelson Mandela. As an anti-apartheid revolutionary, the first black president of South Africa, and a philanthropist, he is a symbol of black resistance movements worldwide.
That’s why ONE activists have shared their favourite Mandela quotes on social media. From Nigeria to Canada, Mandela’s words inspire young people in their activism...