Women's voices must be heard in shaping their healthcare

In just six months the COVID-19 pandemic has travelled the world, profoundly testing the resilience of even the most advanced health systems, and causing massive shocks to national economies. It has also deepened systematic and structural racial, ethnic and gender inequities everywhere.

As the pandemic hit and countries grappled with how best to address the mortality and morbidity directly caused by the virus, many other primary health care services were severely disrupted, among them crucial sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, as well as mental health care.