Africa Health Check EP10: How African women are responding to the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic is harming health, social and economic well-being worldwide, particularly with women at the centre. In Africa, women are leading the health response: women make up almost 70 per cent of the health care workforce, exposing them to a greater risk of infection. At the same time, women are also shouldering much of the burden at home, especially given school and child care facility closures at the height of the pandemic in an effort to curb the spread. Women also face high risks of job and income loss and at this time of the pandemic where economic recessions have forced companies to scale down operations, most women have found themselves first on the chopping board.