In its report, titled Resilience, Adaptation, and Action, (pdf) Marie Stopes International (MSI),the international reproductive rights charity, warned on Wednesday that it expects 1.5 million women around the world to have unsafe abortions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic's likely impact on access to reproductive healthcare. The report offers "evidence of the devastating disruption" around the world to reproductive healthcare for women. Around the world, MSI expects 900,000 additional unintended pregnancies and 3,100 additional maternal deaths as a result of the pandemic.
Between January and June 2020, its programs have served 1.9 million fewer women than usual. The London-based organization provides contraceptive care, abortion care, and other sexual and reproductive healthcare services to women in 37 countries around the world.
MSI found that restricted movement due to national lockdowns, disruptions in supply chains, the overwhelming of healthcare systems by the pandemic, and a lack of information about reproductive services has led women around the world to forgo the care they need.
Between January and June 2020, its programs have served 1.9 million fewer women than usual. The London-based organization provides contraceptive care, abortion care, and other sexual and reproductive healthcare services to women in 37 countries around the world.
MSI found that restricted movement due to national lockdowns, disruptions in supply chains, the overwhelming of healthcare systems by the pandemic, and a lack of information about reproductive services has led women around the world to forgo the care they need.
In India, the strict nationwide lockdown was put in place so abruptly to curb the spread of Covid-19 that 1.3 million fewer women were served by MSI's programs than expected in the first half of the year.
"Due to this drop in services, it is estimated that there will be an additional one million unsafe abortions, an additional 650,000 unintended pregnancies, and 2,600 maternal deaths, due to lack of access to MSI's India services alone," the report reads.
"Women's needs do not suddenly stop or diminish during an emergency—they become greater. And as a doctor I have seen only too often the drastic action that women and girls take when they are unable to access contraception and safe abortion," a physician identified as Dr. Rashmi, who works at one of MSI's two programs in India, said in the report. "This pandemic has strained healthcare services all over the world, but sexual and reproductive healthcare was already so underprioritized that once again women are bearing the brunt of this global calamity."
Nearly a third of women in India and 26% of women in South Africa lost access to contraceptive care, as fear of Covid-19 infection kept them from accessing the service. A third of women in India also reported that they faced a wait time of one to two weeks when making an appointment for an abortion.
MSI noted that its report provides only "a snapshot of the current crisis" and that "in many countries the worst effects of Covid-19 are yet to come."
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