News & Updates

Vol 5 

For perhaps the first time ever, public health has the world's attention. How do we understand the impact of Covid-19 on our health system? We need to reflect on how to address not just the pandemic itself, but also other issues exacerbated by it including, among others, mental health, menstrual hygiene and wellbeing and health inequities. In this edition of The Byte, Learning4impact focuses on the emerging challenges around these issues.  

As COVID-19 spreads across India and globally, the implications of the disease and its consequences on mental health have come to the forefront of a broader discussion. While mental health concerns exacerbated by COVID-19 impact a wide demographic, this blog post highlights some groups that are especially vulnerable during this period.

India is looking at an unprecedented Tuberculosis crisis as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. 'Case detection and recorded deaths have fallen by between 25% and 75% across the country, access to drugs and adequate nutrition are more difficult, and frontline workers are struggling to test and follow up with those initiated on treatment. The resulting escalation in infections and negative outcomes could not only retard progress towards the End TB goals, but even undo years of efforts in the space, particularly as resources continue to be redirected to address the coronavirus pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had several direct and indirect consequences on menstrual health and hygiene. As efforts to combat the pandemic continue, it is critical to ensure that safe, hygienic and dignified menstrual management practices are not compromised. Menstruating healthcare workers, patients in health care facilities, and girls and women in communities and shared institutional settings all face different challenges managing their menstruation, which have been either caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this problem, UNICEF has compiled a brief on mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on menstrual health and hygiene. It outlines the various challenges women in different circumstances may face and describes measures that may be taken to help combat them. An important read for all working on holistic COVID-19 response efforts.

COVID-19 has affected people across the globe and its effects have exacerbated the challenges faced by persons with disabilities and especially women. Recent evidence has demonstrated an increase in violence, inaccessibility of health services, food insecurity and unavailability of support services experienced by women with disabilities. To meet this life threatening situation, it is critical to recognize the risks faced and gaps in the response system. Besides removing barriers to health through accommodative measures, states need to provide social protection that enables independent living, and end targeted gender based violence. This webinar brings global leaders on disabilities together to initiate a discourse on how to identify the gaps and reduce risk for women with disabilities.