The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) lockdown has impacted negatively on the livelihood and income of women globally with unprecedented loss of jobs.
Isha Sesay, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Goodwill Ambassador, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
The interview was part of the activities by the West and Central Africa Regional Office of the UNFPA to mark the 2021 International Women’s Day (IWD).
The day is annually marked on March 8 to raise awareness on the plight of women and girls and to celebrate women making giant strides in different areas of endeavour.
The international day has “Choose To Challenge” as its theme for this year.
Ms Sesay, a British journalist of Sierra Leonean descent, who described women as very important group in every industrial sector, however, said the COVID-19 lockdown had affected the financial income and earnings of millions of women around the globe.
She explained that women were hard hit in terms of impact on livelihood and income, as a lot of industries that were dominated by women remained shut while the lockdown lasted.
She said: “We want to draw attention to the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on women; we want to see more support for small rural farmers in Africa, majority of whom are women.
“It has been particularly hard for women during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as caregivers, doctors, scientists have been on the frontline to save lives.”
The UNFPA ambassador, who called for greater access to capital and support for women to achieve self-sustenance, added that “we should ensure that women access enough capital; they have been feeding families and communities with their meagre income.”
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The journalist, who expressed confidence in the ingenuity of women, said the female folks had been leaders in different areas, beginning from the homes.
She added that…
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