The Covid-19 pandemic has deepened inequality between men and women and reversed "decades of limited and fragile progress on gender equality and women's rights," the United Nations chief said Monday. Yet, while 70 to 90% of healthcare workers are women, only 30% are in decision-making roles, he said. "Today, millions of teenage girls around the world are out of school, and there are alarming reports of an increase in teenage pregnancies in some countries," he said. "We know from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa that when teenage girls leave school, they may never return." On the health front, Guterres said women are suffering because funding is being redirected from maternal and reproductive health services.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 01, 2020 03:45 UTC