Africa: Genito-urinary Medicine

(asked on 13th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of covid-19 on women and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health services in Africa.


Answered by
Wendy Morton Portrait
Wendy Morton
This question was answered on 16th October 2020

Evidence shows that women and girls' sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) are under pressure as a result of COVID-19. Funded by the UK, the Guttmacher Institute estimated that a 10% decline in reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health services over the course of a year in low and low-middle income countries resulting from service disruption could lead to 49 million women with an unmet need for contraceptives and 15 million unintended pregnancies.

Women in Sub-Saharan Africa face interrupted access to SRH services. The supply of family planning commodities has faced major disruptions. We are in frequent touch with our NGO and UN partners to monitor the constraints and barriers women and girls face.

The UK will continue to show leadership internationally on this issue, and work with our partners through the crisis so they can continue to provide SRHR services. 'WISH', our flagship women's sexual & reproductive health programme, operates across 24 African countries. It has developed innovative ways to deliver services and supplies during COVID-19, while also supporting efforts to stop the spread of the disease.

Reticulating Splines