With more than 10,000 COVID-19 cases now recorded daily, South Africa is the worst-affected country on the African continent.
In Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the number of COVID-19 cases has doubled in about two weeks.
In East Africa, 92 per cent of working women are employed in the informal sector, heightening the risks they face of sexual exploitation and abuse due to economic vulnerability.
Reports of gender-based violence have increased. However, service providers are not always being recognized as essential workers and women's organizations are underfunded.
The COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan is just 20 per cent funded. More resources are urgently needed to enable partners to scale-up their response.
