Washington Post: Health workers and U.N. agency raise alarm that women and girls are losing access to crucial care as pandemic drags on
“…As coronavirus lockdowns continue to restrict movement around the world, [some health workers] working on family planning initiatives in developing countries have found female patients facing an uncomfortable paradox: The measures intended to keep them safe from the pandemic could have dangerous long-term impacts on their health. … A recent United Nations Population Fund study suggested that if the pandemic continues to disrupt care in more than 100 low- and middle-income countries over the next six months, 47 million women could lose access to contraceptives, leading to 7 million unplanned pregnancies. Although it’s too soon to determine what long-term consequences the pandemic could have on women’s health care access globally, experts pointing to the lessons of past outbreaks say the impact could be substantial, even as some countries begin to roll back their social-control measures…” (O’Grady, 5/8).