Protect the World's Most Vulnerable from COVID-19

Project Report | Jul 12, 2022
Providing Contraceptives During the Pandemic

By Development Team | Friends of UNFPA

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Eswatini saw a close to 50% drop in women accessing family planning services. When women lose the ability to plan their families, unintended pregnancies occur. Unintended pregnancies can disrupt a woman’s education, place financial burden on her and her family, and expose her to the risk of pregnancy complications.

Nolwazi was one of the women in Eswatini who was at risk of losing access to her contraception when COVID-19 lockdowns began. Nolwazi is a youth empowerment advocate mentoring young girls in her community, and a mother to one. Family planning is critical to Nolwazi realizing her dream of being a teacher. She plans to avoid pregnancy so she can complete her studies and receive a primary teacher’s diploma.

Thanks to you, UNFPA has been there for women like Nolwazi throughout the pandemic. In Eswatini a UNFPA supported SMS text message service sends women monthly reminders to refill their birth control. During lockdown in Eswatini, these reminders were vital to maintaining every woman’s access to family planning services.

Nolwazi said “With the lockdown movement restrictions, it’s easy to forget the date to return to the health facility. These messages beyond encouraging us to go for the service, also act as a reminder.”

For UNFPA’s acting head of office in Eswatini, Margaret Thwala-Tembe, “ensuring that women continue accessing these services is one way we can mitigate COVID-19’s impact on the health of vulnerable groups like women and girls.” For $48 you can provide 40 women like Nolwazi with contraceptives to allow them to plan if and when to get pregnant.

Your support is critical to avoiding the pandemic rolling back progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide. Please donate today!

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Mar 17, 2022
Hope for Pregnant Women Impacted by the Pandemic

By Development Team | Friends of UNFPA

Nov 17, 2021
Pandemic Disruptions Put Pregnant Women At Risk

By Development Team | Friends of UNFPA

Zilkee with the newborn immediately after delivery

Zilkee, a midwife in the remote Bandarban District of Bangladesh, knows all too well the dangers of leaving women without access to maternal health support.

For pregnant women in Bandarban, there are great barriers to receiving lifesaving reproductive health care. Distance, lack of affordable transportation, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, a fear of seeking treatment, all stand in the way of expectant mothers receiving care. In June 2021, UNFPA deployed Zilkee and many other midwives to remote regions, to ensure no women was left without support during childbirth.

Just one month after Zilkee arrived, one of her patients went in to labor. The women’s only option was to travel for two hours in a worn-out fishing boat, through monsoon rain, to reach her nearest clinic. However, her labor had progressed so much that by the time she reached the clinic the only option was for her to give birth in the boat.

Thanks to you, Zilkee was there. She rushed to the boat with her equipment, ensuring the mother could deliver her baby girl safely.

“I am so happy that I was able to save both a life of a mother and a baby girl today. If I would not have come to the river, the situation could have been really serious. I have never been as proud to call myself a midwife!” Zilkee stated after the delivery.

$100 provides five midwives, just like Zilkee with the equipment needed to ensure women everywhere can give birth safely, no matter what.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing strains on maternal care provisions worldwide. Hospitals are overwhelmed, lockdowns are disrupting routine pre and post-natal treatment meetings, and disruptions to family planning supplies are leaving women without the ability to plan if, and when they get pregnant.

UNFPA is working tirelessly to overcome these challenges. Investments in telehealth services are connecting remote regions like Bandarban to expert care providers, allowing midwives to guide women in through their pregnancies from afar. However, there continues to be a shortage of midwives around the world.

$25 provides five expectant mothers with emergency birthing kits, which include all the supplies needed for a woman to give birth, even when she can’t access a clinic.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to overwhelm health systems and place barriers between women and care providers, your support is essential. With you, UNFPA can be there for midwives like Zilkee, for new mothers, and for their babies, no matter what.

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