Cape Town – The Covid-19 pandemic is having potentially catastrophic secondary impacts on the health of women and girls around the world, as well as in South Africa.
According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), decisions made in response to tackling the pandemic have resulted in women being further cut off from sexual and reproductive health services, resulting in a potential increase in maternal and neonatal mortality rates.
MSF teams around the world said they were already seeing indirect effects of the pandemic on women’s lives
in countries including Colombia,
Honduras, Greece, Uganda, Mozambique, South Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The biggest challenges facing women and girls now include the closure and cuts to sexual and reproductive health services; movement restrictions, including travel bans, lockdowns and curfews; global supply chain disruptions and the lack of clear public health information and guidance,” MSF said.
The organisation said that in Rustenburg, Gauteng, abortion services were initially shut down as there was confusion about whether it was an essential service or not, prompting MSF’s advocacy with local health authorities and providers to get those services reopened.
“Even as the need for sexual violence care is apparently growing, access to health services is more difficult. In many places, MSF is seeing a disturbing rise in reports alongside reductions in people actually coming for care.
"In South Africa, a national hotline
that receives reports of sexual violence saw a three-fold spike in calls after the country-wide lockdown took effect.”
MSF safe abortion care and family planning activities manager in Rustenberg, Kgaladi Mphahlele, said while there was an increase in reports, there was a decrease in clinic visits.
“Across the city and surrounding area, other clinics reported the
same. Many callers were likely not able to leave their homes or get transportation to a health facility,” Mphahlele said.
“MSF provides transportation for people who seek treatment for sexual violence, and we have continued to do so throughout the lockdown.
“We have also started telehealth counselling.”