Coronavirus: Why are Women Paying a Heavier Price?

Women have shown better COVID-19 outcomes than men – in part thanks to an additional X chromosome and sex hormones like oestrogen, which provoke better immune responses to the virus that causes COVID-19. But any such advantage is reversed when it comes to the social and economic effects of the pandemic; here the brunt falls heaviest on women.

What has disproportionately affected women is insecurity and loss of employment because women tend to work in informal sectors with no financial protection or benefits. Data gathered by UN Women shows that of all healthcare workers infected with COVID-19 in Spain and Italy, 72 percent and 66 percent respectively were women.

Source: Coronavirus: Why are Women Paying a Heavier Price?

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    Three Lessons from the Global South on Combating the Pandemic

    This article, by Dr Muhammad Musa of BRAC International, a Bangladesh-based NGO, states that top-down measures to curb the spread of the virus – dramatic steps like lockdowns and bans on large gatherings – pose an immediate threat to families in the poorest communities.

    He writes that the key to fixing this situation is community engagement and the involvement of local leaders.

    Source: Three Lessons from the Global South on Combating the Pandemic

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      What is the World Doing about COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance?

      Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the WHO declared vaccination hesitancy one of the Top 10 threats to global health in 2019.

      A vaccine will help prevent new infections, and more than that, it will help businesses and schools in hard-hit countries get back to normal. Vast amounts of money have been invested in finding a vaccine and media reports update us regularly on the progress of over 200 candidate vaccines under evaluation.This blog shares research on vaccine acceptance worldwide.

      Source: What is the World Doing about COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance?

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        COVID-19 Care in India: The Course to Self-Reliance

        The public health response to COVID-19 in India has been highly centralized, resulting in a homogenous strategy applied across a sixth of the world’s population.

        India was placed in a nationwide lockdown on March 24, 2020, with restrictions being relaxed in three phases since June. In May 2020, the prime minister called upon the Indian people to be self-reliant. The authors discuss opportunities to modify several aspects of the medical response to echo this sentiment.

        They conclude that what is still needed is a plethora of low-tech solutions (especially facial coverings), adherence to science, and societal participation in caring for vulnerable people.

        Source: COVID-19 Care in India: The Course to Self-Reliance

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          COVID-19–Related Infodemic and Its Impact on Public Health: A Global Social Media Analysis

          The authors of this article followed and examined COVID-19–related rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, including fact-checking agency websites, Facebook, Twitter, and online newspapers, and their impacts on public health.

          Information was extracted between December 31, 2019 and April 5, 2020, and descriptively analyzed. They performed a content analysis of the news articles to compare and contrast data collected from other sources, and identified 2,311 reports of rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories in 25 languages from 87 countries. Claims were related to illness, transmission and mortality (24%), control measures (21%), treatment and cure (19%), cause of disease including the origin (15%), violence (1%), and miscellaneous (20%).

          Of the 2,276 reports for which text ratings were available, 1,856 claims were false (82%).

          Misinformation fueled by rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories can have potentially serious implications on the individual and community if prioritized over evidence-based guidelines. Health agencies must track misinformation associated with the COVID-19 in real time, and engage local communities and government stakeholders to debunk misinformation.

          Source: COVID-19–Related Infodemic and Its Impact on Public Health: A Global Social Media Analysis

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            Timeline: WHO’s COVID-19 Response

            This timeline tells the story of WHO’s response to COVID-19, starting from the end of December 2019 to the present day.

            The timeline breaks information down into the following categories, and within these, by regions of the world:

            • All actions
            • Information
            • Science
            • Leadership
            • Advice
            • Response
            • Resourcing

            Source: Timeline: WHO’s COVID-19 Response

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              Maintaining Essential GBV Services during COVID-19

              This document provides guidance on how to safely deliver gender-based violence (GBV) services during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The document offer guidance to ministries of health, policymakers, service providers, and other implementing partners on how to continue to safely deliver  GBV services during COVID-19. The evidence-based documents are drawn from data and guidance from the World Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This document is part of a series of technical guidance documents developed by Pathfinder that can be used to support the adaptation of essential sexual and reproductive health care during the COVID-19 pandemic or future airborne infectious disease outbreaks.

              Source: Maintaining Essential GBV Services during COVID-19

                Views 964

                Accélération de l’offre de l’auto-prise en charge au temps de COVID-19 : Ce que cela signifie pour aujourd’hui et pour l’avenir.

                Ce que cela signifie pour aujourd’hui et pour l’avenir.​ Cet article, co-écrit par des partenaires du PSI et de Jhpiego, explore la question importante de l’offre de l’auto-prise en charge dans le contexte de la pandémie COVID-19. (Lisez l’article en anglais.)

                Source: Accélération de l’offre de l’auto-prise en charge au temps de COVID-19 : Ce que cela signifie pour aujourd’hui et pour l’avenir.

                  Views 805

                  Monitoring COVID-19’s Effects on Family Planning: What Should We Measure?

                  As health care systems are stretched to capacity dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are worried that delivery of essential health services—including family planning—is being severely compromised. On the supply side, we may be able to monitor availability of family counselors and contraceptives to meet needs. But what of the demand side? How can we monitor shifts in women’s family planning needs and preferences in light of the social and economic shocks they are facing due to the pandemic?

                  Source: Monitoring COVID-19’s Effects on Family Planning: What Should We Measure?

                    Views 614

                    COVID-19 Kenya – Media Coverage Tracker

                    This tracker, produced by the Kenya Ministry of Health in partnership with USAID, follows media coverage of COVID-19 in Kenya, offering information about the source, topic, and author. Several key topics the tracker covers include: economics, innovation, gender-based violence, aid, response, risk factors, etc.

                      Views 698