Geneva: As many as 190,000 people across Africa could die in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic if crucial containment measures fail, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday.Across the whole of the African continent more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths have been recorded by Africa’s Centre for Disease Control.
By comparison, 140,000 have died in Western Europe, where the virus took hold several weeks earlier.“It likely will smoulder in transmission hot spots,” the BBC quoted WHO Africa head Matshidiso Moeti as saying in a statement.
Authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa must ensure their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic include specific protections for the rights of women and girls, Amnesty International, Women’s Link Worldwide and the International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) said in a report published today.
The document provides a roadmap for governments and regional organisations for taking the necessary measures to protect the rights of women and girls, who are often disproportionately affected in crisis situations. It highlights states’ obligations to guarantee the right to live free from discrimination and violence and calls on governments to ensure access to essential sexual and reproductive health services, commodities and information during the pandemic.
