Skip to content

Place Women and Girls at the Center of COVID-19 Response and Recovery

Media Contact: Laurel Lundstrom (llundstrom@pathfinder.org)

April 13, 2020

Pathfinder International commends the new UN policy brief, The Impact of COVID-19 on Women, which suggests measures that can be taken to place women and girls at the heart of the COVID-19 response and recovery process.

The policy brief outlines three main ways to not only put women and girls at the forefront of response decisions, but to inform a more just society within the context of COVID-19 response and recovery efforts:

  • Ensure women’s equal representation in all COVID-19 response planning and decision making.
  • Drive transformative change for equality by addressing the care economy, paid and unpaid.
  • Target women and girls in all efforts to address the socio-economic impact of COVID-19.

Incorporating these high-level suggestions from the UN policy brief into response and recovery plans will help level the playing field for women and girls.

“As an international sexual and reproductive rights organization, we recognize that women and girls are most often the caregivers in their communities and will be disproportionately affected by this outbreak—by being in proximity to and caring for those who become ill, by losing their livelihoods, by becoming victims of violence that may occur during uncertain times, and by their lack of access to sexual and reproductive health care when health systems are overwhelmed fighting this global pandemic,” said Lois Quam, President of Pathfinder International. “We agree with the recommendations made in the UN policy brief—placing women and girls at the forefront of our response decisions is critical to achieving gender equality, creating more just societies, and contributing to healthy and resilient communities around the world.”

The policy brief states: The COVID-19 global crisis has made starkly visible the fact that the world’s formal econ­omies and the maintenance of our daily lives are built on the invisible and unpaid labor of women and girls. With children out of school, intensified care needs of older persons and ill family members, and overwhelmed health services, demands for care work in a COVID- 19 world have intensified exponentially.

These are critical considerations when moving forward in the upcoming weeks, months, and years. Around the world, women make up 70 percent of health and social service workers. The midwives, nurses, and community health workers we work with are on the frontlines of efforts to combat and contain outbreaks of disease. But more than this, women provide three times the amount of unpaid home labor as men.

As UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated: “Gender equality and women’s rights are essential to getting through this pandemic together, to recovering faster, and to building a better future for everyone.”

“At Pathfinder, we are currently collaborating with national health systems and local communities to slow COVID‐19 infections and ensure the safety and health of women, girls, and communities around the world.” said Quam. “Moving forward, we must ensure that women are at the heart of rebuilding.”


We are living through uncertain and unprecedented times. COVID-19 has hit all of the countries where we work. As an organization with experience serving vulnerable communities during times of instability, we remain nimble, responsive, and resilient. We are closely monitoring the virus and implementing rapid-response plans in each country we serve to keep our staff safe, slow COVID-19 infections, and ensure the continuity of essential sexual and reproductive health care. Stay up to date on our response at pathfinder.org/covid-19.

More Stories

Reaching Young People through Edutainment: Reflection from the GAMIVAL Experience!

As the world grapples with the challenges of engaging young people in critical conversations about their health and wellbeing, innovative…

Read More

Pathways December 2024: Women Lead on Climate and Health

The urgency of our mission is underscored by stark realities. In 2022 alone, over 110 million people in Africa were…

Read More

Contributing to Global Health Security and Protecting Women’s Health

By: Madiha Latif As the world looks to the end of 2024—which has seen COVID-19 and destructive weather become part…

Read More

Women Must be Centerstage in Climate Adaptation Plans

By: Madiha Latif Reflecting on COP29, let’s listen to the most climate-vulnerable among us My participation in COP29 this year…

Read More

Strengthening Health Systems for UHC through a Primary Healthcare Lens: Learning from the African Experience, Building for the Future

By Mengistu Asnake and Rispah Walumbe. This article first appeared in SciDev.net, a global source for news, opinions, and analysis about science and…

Read More

Co-designing programs for youth with youth: an essential approach to localization

By: Manish Mitra Lessons from Pathfinder’s locally led youth programs in India At Pathfinder, we are committed to locally led…

Read More

That’s a Wrap on COP29

Final negotiations at #COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan concluded last week. After two weeks of discussion, this year’s “finance COP” resulted…

Read More

Meet the Climate Champions of Bangladesh 

By Shanaj Parvin Parvin Jonaki, Communications Officer, Pathfinder Bangladesh and Sarah Peck, Communications Advisor  Mosammat Farhana, a college student from…

Read More

Working with Woodabé communities to enhance climate resilience and improve the lives of women and girls

By Ali Adamou Harouna, Communications & External Engagement Advisor – Africa A Sahelian country in the heart of the Sahara…

Read More

Invest in Today’s Health Workforce to Help Tomorrow’s Climate Crisis

By: Crystal Lander, Pathfinder International and Caroline York, IntraHealth The effects of climate change are increasing at meteoric rates, devastating…

Read More

A Global Perspective on Local Action at GHPC 2024

At the Global Health Practitioner Conference (GHPC) 2024, Pathfinder International brought together voices from Kenya, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to explore…

Read More

Reflections from GHPC 2024: Amplifying Community Voices in Climate and Health Action

The Global Health Practitioner Conference (GHPC) 2024 served as a powerful reminder of what we at Pathfinder International have long…

Read More