Skip to main content

New story in Health from Time: Pandemic Causing Shortage of Contraceptives and Will Impact Women’s Reproductive Health, Says U.N.



The number of women unable to access contraception, experiencing unintended pregnancies and facing gender-based violence will skyrocket as the COVID-19 pandemic continues over the coming months, according to a new United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report.

“This new data shows the catastrophic impact that COVID-19 could soon have on women and girls globally,” Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director said in a press release. “The pandemic is deepening inequalities, and millions more women and girls now risk losing the ability to plan their families and protect their bodies and their health.”

New data released by UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, predicts that over 47 million women could lose access to contraception, resulting in 7 million unplanned pregnancies if the lockdown continues for six months.

Keep up to date with our daily coronavirus newsletter by clicking here.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, health facilities are becoming overrun by patients with the virus, resulting in fewer resources or time available for women seeking out medical attention for their sexual or reproductive health. Disruptions in global supply chains are also causing a shortage of contraceptives, particularly in the lowest-income countries, according to the report.

The report also predicts that 31 million additional gender-based violence cases can be expected over the coming months as victims of domestic violence are trapped at home with their abusers. Already, data from around the world suggests that lockdown has significantly increased domestic violence rates.

Women’s reproductive and sexual health in low to middle-income countries are more likely to be affected by the pandemic, the report notes. The disruption to prevention programs could result in an additional 2 million female genital cutting cases as well as 13 million additional child marriages in the coming decade that would otherwise have been averted.

“Women’s reproductive health and rights must be safeguarded at all costs,” Dr. Kanem. “The services must continue; the supplies must be delivered; and the vulnerable must be protected and supported.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline via text or call at 1-800-799-7233.

Please send any tips, leads, and stories to virus@time.com.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

New story in Health from Time: COVID-19 Has Been ‘Apocalyptic’ for Public Transit. Will Congress Offer More Help?

While trying to get to work over the past few months, Brittany Williams, a Seattle home care worker, has often been passed by two or three buses before one stops to let her board. Buses in her area that once carried anywhere from about 50 to 100 passengers have been limited to between 12 and 18 to prevent overcrowding in response to coronavirus, and Williams’ commute, typically a half-hour ride, now takes more than double that time. Other Seattle transit riders have described budgeting as much as an extra hour per trip to account for the reduced capacity, eating into their time at work, school or with family. Even with the ridership limits in place, Williams, 34, doesn’t feel safe on public transit. Some passengers don’t wear face coverings, and bus drivers sometimes ignore capacity limits, she says. On one ride with her seven-year-old son, she decided to get off at a stop far from her home after a driver allowed a crowd of people to board. “It’s very trying. I’ll put...
Read more

New story in Health from Time: An At-Home Coronavirus Test May Be On the Way in the U.S.

As cases of COVID-19 continue to climb in the U.S. , there’s a new urgency to make sure there are as many tests as possible to diagnose people who have symptoms that might indicate an infection. Knowing if people are positive is important for guiding their next steps: self-isolation, avoiding contact with others, and, if their symptoms get worse, seeking medical care. To date, access to tests has been spotty at best across the country, and while more kits are now available than even a week ago , most are gene-based assays that take several days for commercial labs to process and produce results. That may change in about two months if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives Emergency Use Authorization to the first blood-based COVID-19 test in the U.S. Scanwell Health, an at-home test company based in California, licensed the rights to a test developed by Chinese company Innovita, which was used extensively at the height of country’s epidemic earlier this year. “The ...
Read more

New story in Health from Time: A Montana Care Home Refused Free COVID-19 Tests. Now, Nearly Every Resident Has Coronavirus

(BILLINGS, Mont.) — It was meant to be a last line of defense to protect the most vulnerable as the coronavirus spread across the United States : Montana officials offered free testing in May for staff and residents at assisted living and long-term care facilities. But not all of them followed through, according to state data, including a facility in Billings, Montana’s largest city, that cares for people with dementia and other memory problems. The virus has infected almost every resident and killed eight, accounting for almost a quarter of Montana’s 34 confirmed deaths. Thirty-six employees also have tested positive at the facility where 59 people lived before the deaths began. Read more: ‘It’s Getting Worse.’ Nursing Home Workers Confront Risks in Facilities Devastated by Coronavirus While Montana’s rates of confirmed infections and deaths are much lower than other parts of the country, the outbreak at Canyon Creek Memory Care illustrates that even the most simple an...
Read more