The Women in Health and their Economic, Equity and Livelihood statuses during Emergency Preparedness and Response (WHEELER) study is set to formulate gender inclusive and transformative strategies that will safeguard the female healthcare providers (HCPs) in the current pandemic and during emergency preparedness, response, and recovery phases in future health crises.
The WHEELER study is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under the Women Rise initiative and led by the Aga Khan University’s Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, East Africa (CoEWCH, EA) in collaboration with the University of Manitoba, and the counties of Kilifi and Mombasa. It is set to provide evidence on the effects and possible impact of work-related health and safety changes and the disruption to female HCPs’ economic opportunities and livelihood during the pandemic. The study will use participatory and gender-based analysis approaches in generating the evidence.
Mrs Evaline Lang’at, the principal investigator said, “Evidence shows that globally 70% and up to 90% of the health and social care workforce are women. We hope that through the study, we will be able to generate evidence on the health, economic and societal impacts of COVID-19 and its mitigation measures on the unpaid and paid healthcare workforce in Kenya as well as tease out any gender vulnerabilities associated with unpaid and paid health care work during the pandemic. Such evidence is critical for the development of gender-sensitive and transformative health systems that can withstand future crisis and emergencies.”
Previous studies have shown that the containment measures imposed to reduce the spread of coronavirus had several unintended health, economic, and societal consequences of which women bore the larger burden. A United Nations (UN) 2020 study on the impact of COVID-19 on women noted that women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic containment measures, where more women than men reported reduction in their earnings, skipped meals, went without necessary healthcare, and assumed more unpaid labour, including greater domestic household responsibilities.
Gender inequities are evidently a recurring problem during pandemics and epidemics. More women than men suffered from the economic effects of Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone (UN Women, 2014). Therefore, it is crucial to address this issue to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls as per the fifth sustainable development goal (SDG).
“The findings from the WHEELER study will advise how the County Government will handle future emergencies like the COVID pandemic in relation to the unique needs of the different cadres of healthcare workers while taking into consideration the gender disparities that may exist. It will advise policy formulation that is specific and responsive with the purpose of mitigating the negative effects that may result from emergencies such that livelihoods are not greatly disrupted,” said Dr Bilali Mazoya, Co-Principal Investigator.
WHEELER will majorly contribute towards CoEWCH EA’s mission to address women, child, and adolescent, health and rights and gender inequities. “The goal of the WHEELER study is in line with our mandate to conduct research on issues of relevance in developing countries targeting population health, health systems, and quality of healthcare to improve the health and wellbeing of women, adolescents, and children and enhance gender equity,” said Prof Marleen Temmerman, Director, CoEWCH EA.