African governments must build on Covid-19 responses to advance gender equality

Abstract

Gender inequality remains a major threat to development in Africa, with millions of women in the continent not reaching their full potential.1 The covid-19 pandemic and related quarantine and lockdown measures exacerbated these gender inequalities. The effects included increased reports of gender based violence,1-4 the economic consequences of reduced income and unemployment for women and families,5-13 and disruptions to essential health services.14-17 In addition, school closures as a part of responding to the pandemic, further exposed girls and adolescents to violence, unintended pregnancies, and a risk of permanent dropout from schools across the region.