Disparities in Accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Rights Among Adolescents and Young People During COVID-19 Pandemic: Culture, Economic, and Gender Perspectives
- PMID: 36311053
- PMCID: PMC9589761
- DOI: 10.1007/s40475-022-00274-5
Disparities in Accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Rights Among Adolescents and Young People During COVID-19 Pandemic: Culture, Economic, and Gender Perspectives
Abstract
Purpose of review: As the world grapples with the health systems' challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the needs of the already vulnerable adolescents and young people is vital. This narrative synthesis is aimed to highlight the current gender, cultural, and socioeconomic dynamics fueling inequalities to accessing sexual, reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services among adolescents and young people in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
Recent findings: The COVID-19 pandemic has in most countries exacerbated already existing inequalities due to economic, gender, cultural, and legal aspects. Strategies implemented by most governments to mitigate the spread of the virus have also had a negative impact on the access to SRHR services, some of which are long term. Few published studies have assessed the extent to which the pandemic has fueled each of these paradigms regarding access to SRHR, especially among adolescents and young people (AYP). Additionally, there is paucity in data on the same in most countries, as the systems to track such effects were not available at the inception of the pandemic.
Summary: Despite efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on this population, deficits remain and a multi-stakeholder approach is needed to achieve the intended goals, especially where cultural and gender values are deeply rooted. Further research is needed to quantify how the pandemic has fueled economic, gender, and cultural aspects to influence access to SRHR services among AYP especially in LMIC.
Keywords: Adolescents; Inequalities; SRHR; Young people.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
Conflict of interest statement
Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests.
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