
Not only is health personnel deployed differently, but the financing of contraception and abortion care is also diverted to the fight against Covid-19 in certain countries. However, the HIV epidemic has taught us that the funding for this type of epidemic should not be diverted from existing services to ensure the continuity of care and to not undermine health and other rights.
Marie Stopes International, one of the largest NGOs providing safe abortion care and family planning in the Global South, estimates that the decline in reproductive health services could lead to as many as 3 million additional unplanned pregnancies, 2.7 million unsafe abortions and 11,000 pregnancy-related deaths.