Former President Kgalema Motlanthe says women are likely to be the hardest hit by the coronavirus, which has to date claimed more than 3 400 lives and infected more than a hundred thousand people.
Motlanthe was delivering the keynote address at the 4th International Women’s Day Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, on Friday.
“Gender discrimination means that women have far fewer resources to succeed. Programs to eliminate poverty should include specific attention to gender inequality.” – @KgalemaMotlanth @KMotlantheFDN #EachForEqual #IWD2020 #CGEL pic.twitter.com/OER1HpX4oj
— Motsepe Foundation (@MotsepeFoundtn) March 6, 2020
The event hosted by the Motsepe Foundation’s Centre for Gender Equality and Leadership brings together leaders, organisations and civil society to engage in dialogue on the advancement of women.
Motlanthe says women are often at the forefront of healthcare delivery.
“Women will be the hardest hit by the outbreak of disease as the majority of primary caregivers in the home and in the healthcare workforce are women. With compounded and adverse challenges of poverty access to treatment and gender inequality, the world is likely to see women suffer disproportionately the most from pandemics such as the current coronavirus. Evidence shows that these gender inequalities exacerbate the outbreak of disease.”
COVID-19 Risk Reduction Measures
Since the announcement of the first confirmed case of the virus in KwaZulu-Natal, there has been a sense of public panic with many people looking for information around testing and treatment.
For more on how to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus, take a look at the following awareness insert.
