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Personal protective equipment has been critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. But for many women there’s also one (too) big problem: It doesn’t fit.
Women make up close to 70% of the global health workforce, but only 25% of global health leadership roles. One consequence of that inequity is that women are not always at the table when things like PPE manufacturing standards get decided, Rebecca Root reports.
Research conducted last year in the United Kingdom found that respiratory equipment “poorly fit” 16.7% of female health workers compared to 7.6% of men. Poorly fitting protective suits, face masks, goggles, gloves, and other equipment leave women at greater risk, increasing their stress and anxiety at work, or force them to choose between refusing work and becoming potential disease vectors themselves.
“This is a universal issue as most PPE is designed for U.S. and European males and are too big for many females and Asian healthcare workers,” says Dr. Michelle Acorn of the International Council of Nurses.
Rebecca reports that advocacy groups hope a new Gender Equal Health and Care Workforce Initiative launched this year by France, WHO, and Women in Global Health could be a step in a better-fitting direction.
Read: PPE is designed for men. Some health experts are hoping to change that.
Under pressure
The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan has altered the landscape of global development engagement with the country. Shabtai Gold speaks with Afghanistan experts about how development institutions such as the World Bank might pivot in response to the shifting security, political, and humanitarian situation.
Devex Pro: As US pulls out of Afghanistan, development must adjust, experts say
Elsewhere in the region, public anger at political leaders is colliding with record heat waves. With government power grids suffering frequent outages, privately run backup diesel generators — which must be manually hosed down to prevent overheating — are often the only option, the Washington Post reports.
Urban planning
As host of the United Nations headquarters, New York City is home to the world’s largest diplomatic corps. When New York emerged as the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., those relationships became a critical lifeline.
I spoke with Penny Abeywardena, New York City’s commissioner for international affairs, about what it was like to go from working with the U.N. on the Sustainable Development Goals to crisis managing the city’s international relationships at the height of the pandemic.
“We had a reality where our federal government at the time wasn't helping us get the PPE and ventilators that we needed ... We pivoted into becoming chief procurement executives from foreign governments,” Abeywardena tells me.
We also talked about what the development community should know about planning for this year’s U.N. General Assembly.
“We are welcoming folks back cautiously,” she says.
Q&A: How New York City's SDG leadership aided COVID-19 response
Hypothetically speaking
If the U.K.’s Labour Party were to someday win back power, the person poised to take over as international development secretary is Preet Kaur Gill, a member of Parliament for Birmingham Edgbaston and the current shadow secretary for international development. If that were to happen, what would be her priorities? Will Worley speaks to Gill to get the answer.
Devex Pro: Preet Gill's to-do list upon taking office
Moving targets
The international COVAX initiative has published its fourth round of dose allocations. The plan is meant to ensure countries that received and administered first doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine are able to administer a second. Many of them have been waiting — past WHO’s recommended maximum gap of 12 weeks — for follow up doses after supply shortages delayed subsequent shipments, Jenny Lei Ravelo reports.
The allocation plan offers a snapshot of the enormous logistical challenge presented by a global patchwork of countries at various stages of immunization readiness that are purchasing and receiving multiple shipments from multiple sources.
Read: COVAX allocates 17M AstraZeneca vaccine doses, but details are hazy
In other news
The U.N. on Friday adopted its first resolution on vision, aimed at making eye care accessible to at least 1.1 billion people. [AP]
Russia on Saturday dispatched two planes carrying humanitarian relief to Cuba, including medical masks and personal protective equipment. [Reuters]
Representatives from over 100 countries will begin today the two-week process of finalizing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's comprehensive assessment report, which will be published ahead of COP26. [France 24]
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.