Is Reproductive Health falling into the cracks amid the COVID 19 Pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered fear worldwide and influenced all of us in some way or another. It is spreading rapidly, and is expected to cause major health, economic and societal implications globally. The pandemic has not just resulted in a global economic collapse and the disruption of normal life; it has also caused havoc on health care systems around the world. COVID-19 has shown us the shortcomings and inequities that have been hidden within our health systems worldwide, including lacks in the contraceptive manufacturing and supply chains, over-medicalization, health insurance limits, health care workers’ insecurity, and much more.
Lessons from the Past
Previous public health crises have shown that the influence of an outbreak on Reproductive Health (RH) frequently goes unrecognized because the results are often not the direct outcome of the infection, but instead are the indirect consequence of stressed health care systems, delays in treatment, unavailability or lack of Reproductive Health services and diverted resources. For instance, evidence from the outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa in 2013–2016 indicated the negative, indirect effect of this outbreak on Reproductive Health .
According to a study by Sierra Leone’s Health Management Information System, reduction in maternal and newborn care, decrease in antenatal care coverage, postnatal care services, and family planning services due to interrupted facilities and fear of seeking treatment during the Ebola epidemic led to an estimated 3,600 maternal deaths, neonatal deaths, and stillbirths. The maternal deaths almost exceeded deaths from Ebola in Sierra Leone. This shows that the indirect effects of a crisis on mortality rates because of healthcare systems lacking resilience may be as significant as the direct effects of the crisis itself on the mortality rate.
Is History Repeating Itself?
Reproductive Health is one area that is already falling into the cracks globally because of the pandemic. For instance, the supply chain for contraceptive commodities is already affected as the manufacturers are now focusing more on the pandemic – factories are either shuttered due to the recent outbreak, or their employees are forced to stay home or work limited hours. The closing of borders and restrictions in the supply chain flows of manufacturers also adversely affects the production and distribution of contraceptives, and essential maternal health medicines, including antiretroviral (ARV) medicines.