The COVID-19 pandemic and sexual reproductive health needs of women and adolescent girls in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the decisions that have been made in its response risk to further alienate the Zimbabwean women and adolescent girls from accessing Sexual Reproductive Healthcare (SRH). Despite experiences from past pandemics demonstrating the short and long term adverse impacts on SRH outcomes in developing nations, research show that many of these countries, Zimbabwe included have not transformed the programming landscape of SRH care amid crises. As a result, this paper observed that the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening the vulnerability of women and adolescent girls who are already faced with innumerable reproductive health challenges. In light of this, the pandemic requires health systems to reconfigure and reform the way they traditionally operate in order to prevent the inaccessibility of SRH care as well as adopt a pro-active approach which takes into account the broad links between pandemic responses and sexual reproductive health matters of women and girls.