Global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have collided with long-standing sexual and reproductive health inequities. While COVID-19 has had a significant, and in some cases devastating, impact on health systems around the world, studies show that people whose human rights are least protected—such as refugees, displaced peoples, and conflict-affected populations—are the ones who suffer the most. The IRC’s work in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh—home to the world’s largest refugee settlement—inevitably became more challenging during COVID-19. This assessment explores the intersecting impacts of the pandemic on the demand, access, and delivery of SRH services and protective measures. It incorporates the perspectives of women, girls, and boys from Rohingya and host communities, as well as service providers (e.g., frontline health workers, doctors, midwives, etc.) and other key informants (e.g., local officials, NGO staff, etc.). It was also intended as a learning exercise, so that SRH services can be more accessible and prioritized during future public health emergencies.

The Generation Equality Forum can and should drive progress towards gender equality in humanitarian contexts. IRC has called for the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) to be purposefully inclusive of achieving gender equality in humanitarian contexts.

The IRC's first IRC gender analysis in Yemen with a programmatic focus revealed the “big picture” gender-related data trends with a focus on health, WASH, food security, multi-purpose cash assistance and NFI distributions, education and protection.

Annette Voth and Annette Hunt are a dynamic duo reminiscent of Mario and Luigi, Sherlock and Watson, Abott and Costello or any other favorite pair you can think of that can exist independently of each other, but, when coupled together, deliver a value greater than the sum of their parts. Both women share a tenacity and a clarity of focus when it comes to taking care of clients’ immigration needs.