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COVID-19 Kills Fewer African Women Than Men – WHO Study

  Women in Africa are less likely to die from Covid-19 than men, but more likely to succumb to maternal complications due to limited access … Continue reading COVID-19 Kills Fewer African Women Than Men – WHO Study

By Emmanuel Egobiambu
Updated March 4, 2021
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A man carrying a prayer mat and wearing a mask as preventive measure against COVID-19 coronavirus has his temperature checked at the entrance of the Nizamiye Mosque ahead of the Friday prayer in Midrand, Johannesburg, on June 5, 2020 as faith activities have resumed in South Africa since June 1 with the introduction of the level 3 lockdown regulation aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 disease. Michele Spatari / AFP
File photo: Customers stand in a queue outside Makro in Pretoria East on March 24, 2020. – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 23, 2020 announced a 21-day national lockdown to start later this week to contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus which has affected more than 400 people and ordered the military to enforce the ban. Phill Magakoe / AFP

 

Women in Africa are less likely to die from Covid-19 than men, but more likely to succumb to maternal complications due to limited access to reproductive services since the pandemic started, the UN said Thursday citing reports.

A study of 28 African countries including Guinea, Mauritius and Uganda showed that on average women accounted for a slightly smaller proportion of coronavirus infections and deaths compared to men.

Overall around 41 percent of reported Covid-19 cases were women, although the figures ranged widely from 31 percent in Niger to more than 57 percent in South Africa.

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“In most countries, women are somewhat less likely to die from Covid-19 than men,” World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti told an online news conference.

But the pandemic had exposed gaps in health services, with women suffering the brunt of disrupted access to care.

“There was a rise in maternal deaths in 10 countries,” Moeti said, making reference to another study that collated data between February and July 2020.

The highest jumps were recorded in the Comoros, Mali, Senegal and South Africa.

Access to sexual and reproductive care was already poor on the continent before coronavirus hit.

But access was made worse by restrictions to stem the spread of Covid-19, pushing more women to seek risky informal abortions, Moeti explained.

Overstretched hospitals were often unable to see patients seeking non-coronavirus related services, she added.

More data is still needed to determine the full extent of the effect.

AFP

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