Coronavirus lockdown could cause 7 million unwanted pregnancies - UN

Monday, May 04, 2020 at 8:26 AM by Joseph Omotayo

- A UN report has revealed how the current coronavirus lockdown could give the world's healthcare system a great blow

- The data also said that some of its fallouts could lead to 7 million unwanted pregnancies as a result of a decrease in access to contraceptives

- The world organisation, however, said that it would find a way to ensure the system is empowered to beat the ongoing challenges Covid-19 poses

A reported new data by the United Nations has said that the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown could lead to about seven million pregnancies in the coming months and lead to big disruptions in health care services.

According to SROC, the UN Population Fund and partners said that the number of women who are unable to access family planning or facing unplanned pregnancies and confronting domestic violence could greatly increase in millions.

The same release said that 47 million women may not be able to access contraceptives should the Covid-19 lockdown go on for straight six months.

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“This new data shows the catastrophic impact that COVID-19 could soon have on women and girls globally.

“The pandemic is deepening inequalities and millions more women and girls now risk losing the ability to plan their families and protect their bodies and their health,” Dr Natalia Kanem, UNFPA executive director said.

The data added that there are around 450 million women in 114 countries who use contraceptives as it said that the lockdown has slowed the fight against female gen*tal mutilation with experts saying millions of avoidable FGM could happen.

The inability to get contraceptives has been identified as the main cause of the expected situation. Photo source: SROC
Source: UGC

It said that 13 million child marriages could also happen. As a response to those gloomy likelihoods, the organization is working on strengthening the health system and service delivery.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Jerry Mallo, the Nigerian man who created the first carbon fibre sports car in 2019, built a state-of-the-art ventilator as a solution to the scarcity of the equipment in the country.