By Correspondent.
Nakuru, Kenya: (News of The South) – From the Rift Valley to the Maasai Mara, women and girls are being hit hardest by COVID-19 in Kenya. “One of the lessons we have learned in this short time is how much women bear the burden of any situation that involves family health or the economy”, says Wendo Aszed, founder of Dandelion Africa, a grassroots charity working in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
“The women we work with depend on day-to-day cash income. With the markets now closed, we can already see the effects of COVID-19 on the welfare of families in the community.”
During the COVID-19 crisis, women and girls in Kenya are not only being hit hard financially, but they are also facing increased risks of maternal and neo-natal deaths and sexual and gender-based violence. “We expect to see a spike in unintended pregnancies following the closure of schools”, reports Dr. Crystal Mogensen of the Maa Trust, which supports girls from the Maasai community to stay in school and avoid early marriage. Up to 9.5 million women and girls could miss out on vital family planning services this year because of Covid-19, potentially resulting in thousands of deaths.
CHASE Africa is a small UK charity, based in Frome-Somerset, supporting nine local healthcare and family planning partners in East Africa. In celebration of World Health Day on 7th April, CHASE is launching an emergency fund-raiser to ensure that Backpack Nurses and Community Health Workers in Kenya can continue their vital work. Providing basic protective equipment and sanitising products means that family planning and counselling services can be sustained from rural health centres and via community health workers and nurses going door-to-door or on motorbikes, protecting teenage girls from unintended pregnancy and helping women plan their families and keep their children healthy.
CHASE ensures that all funds raised go directly to local partners working in rural Kenya. £5.50 buys 5 litres of liquid soap. £6.25 pays for 10 face masks. £82 covers the salary of a Community Health Worker for one month.
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