Coronavirus likely to lead to millions of unintended pregnancies

Ongoing lockdowns and major disruptions to health services during the COVID-19 pandemic could result in 7 million unintended pregnancies in the coming months, according to data released on Tuesday by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners.

They estimate that the number of women unable to access family planning or facing unintended pregnancies, gender-based violence and other harmful practices, could "skyrocket" by millions due to the crisis, according to a press release obtained by Xinhua.

"This new data shows the catastrophic impact that COVID-19 could soon have on women and girls globally," said Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director. "The pandemic is deepening inequalities, and millions more women and girls now risk losing the ability to plan their families and protect their bodies and their health."

The research was conducted by UNFPA, in collaboration with Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University in the United States, and Victoria University in Australia.

COVID-19 is having an enormous impact on women and girls as health systems become overloaded and facilities close, or provide a limited set of services which they need. At the same time, many women and girls also are skipping important medical check-ups for fear of contracting the virus, said the press release.

Globally, around 450 million women across 114 low and middle-income countries use contraceptives, according to UNFPA and partners.

They project that if health services remain disrupted and lockdowns continue for six months, some 47 million in these countries may not be able to access modern contraceptives, resulting in around 7 million unintended pregnancies.

There also will be 31 million additional cases of gender-based violence during the same period, with 15 million more cases expected for every three months the lockdowns continue, the press release said.

Similarly, an additional 13 million child marriages could take place this decade as the crisis has disrupted efforts to stop this practice.