by William M. Reilly
UNITED NATIONS, April 9 (Xinhua) -- With the World Health Organization (WHO) marking 100 days since the first notification of COVID-19 cases, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Thursday warned of the devastating socio-economic impact of the pandemic on women and girls.
"Progress lost takes years to regain," he said in a video message accompanying release of a policy brief, looking at how women and girls have been impacted by the pandemic. "Teenage girls out of school may never return."
The secretary-general said that while mortality rates from COVID-19 are higher for men, "the pandemic is having devastating social and economic consequences for women and girls," possibly reversing the limited progress that has been made on gender equality and women's rights.
The brief shows that nearly 60 percent of women around the world work in the informal economy, earning less, saving less, and being at greater risk of falling into poverty.
He urged governments to put women and girls at the center of their recovery efforts.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva that Thursday marked 100 days since the agency was notified of the first cases of COVID-19.
The agency is publishing a technical strategy update for the next phase of the response, addressing the circumstances in lower- and middle-income countries and communities with weaker health systems and infrastructure.
It will form the basis of the second Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, expected to be released in the coming days. The plan will estimate the resources needed to implement national and international strategies during the next phase of the response.
Tedros was joined by UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and special representatives working on violence against children and several civil society organizations to call on leaders in every sector to urgently respond with a united effort to protect children against COVID-19.
The pandemic is exposing children to increased risk of violence, including maltreatment, gender-based violence and sexual exploitation, they said.
Fore, the UNICEF chief, said in a statement that "not only are children and young people contracting COVID-19, they are also among its most severely impacted victims. Unless we act now to address the pandemic's impacts on children, the echoes of COVID-19 will permanently damage our shared future."
According to analysis of the UN agency, 99 percent of children and young people under 18 worldwide (2.34 billion) live in one of the 186 countries with some form of movement restrictions in place due to COVID-19. Sixty percent of all children live in one of the 82 countries with a full or partial lockdown -- accounting for 1.4 billion young lives.
"We know that, in any crisis, the young and the most vulnerable suffer disproportionately. This pandemic is no different. It is our responsibility to prevent suffering, save lives and protect the health of every child," said Fore.
"We must also ensure that risk-informed decisions on COVID-19 control measures are made based on the best available evidence in order to minimize and prevent any collateral damage, and to provide mitigation measures so the damage is not lasting," she added.
