COVID-19: Protecting Women & Children

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global threat that does not recognize borders. It has exacerbated existing health inequities, with women, girls, gender-diverse individuals, refugees, and displaced children particularly at risk, today and into the future. 

Vaccine inequity is prolonging the pandemic, allowing more sophisticated variants to emerge, widening global inequality, increasing the risk of new infectious diseases, and will inhibit our global recovery unless addressed. Urgent intervention is required. 

Global and domestic economic recovery is dependent upon robust supply chains which require thriving local economies. None of this is possible when global health systems are collapsing. A new study commissioned by the ICC Research Foundation found the global economy stands to lose as much as $9.2 trillion USD if governments fail to ensure developing economies have access to COVID-19 vaccines. As much as half of this loss would fall on advanced economies. 

Access to life-saving tools in the fight against COVID-19 is essential to kick-starting our recovery and stabilizing our trade relations. Despite Canadian support to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, aka ACT-A, and commitments to dose sharing, vaccination rates in low- and middle-income countries remain far too low (at only 2.3% as of October 6, 2021) -- rates in humanitarian contexts even more so. All ACT-A pillars, including the humanitarian buffer, are underfunded. 

Vaccine inequity could cost Canada’s economy $77 billion.

The pandemic threatens to reverse decades of progress in advancing the health and rights of women and children around the world. According to UNICEF, even though children don’t appear to be dying at the same rate as adults who contract COVID-19, the impacts of strained health systems and disruptions to life-saving health services like immunizations and antenatal care, are likely to result in devastating increases in child mortality. It’s estimated that nearly 200,000 additional stillbirths could occur over the next 12 months as women are less likely, or able to, access necessary health services.

SOLUTIONS: A Way Forward

Canadian leadership is needed now. Increased sharing of vaccine doses alongside diplomatic engagement of countries that share our values, will ensure equitable and rights-based access and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for high-risk and vulnerable populations. 

• Canada’s must contribute its fair share, $1.1 billion in 2022, towards ending the pandemic, including CAD$780 million for direct ACT-A contributions and CAD$325 million for additional delivery costs.

• Canada must champion the need for vaccine delivery funding across all emergencies, including support for ACT-A investments, and capacity building for countries to effectively roll out vaccines to communities. This must include investments to fairly pay, protect and respect the frontline healthcare workforce – 70% of whom are women.

• Concerted efforts must be made to address stark gender inequalities already seen in vaccine rollout campaigns in all settings.