Brazil

Brazil today has become a global epicenter in the COVID-19 pandemic. Women in the country are facing many different struggles during the COVID-19 outbreak. These include difficulties with childcare, poverty, domestic violence, and inefficient distribution of contraceptives. Women in the health workforce are particularly made vulnerable as the majority of workers in the front line of the public health system are women. Intersectionalities of class, race and ethnic inequalities add to structural gender inequality already present in the country and which the COVID-19 epidemic highlights. Also, Brazil has ongoing and multiple epidemics such as dengue, Zika, measles and others which are still circulating which calls for syndemic analysis, as research and policy on global health emergencies tend to ignore other important health concerns, especially in more local contexts. 

On top of all of these concerns, Brazil faces a huge political crisis with a government with a conservative agenda, which is affecting women’s reproductive rights and policies. Recently, the government was against the use of the term “sexual and reproductive health” on an UN document and other initiatives. Therefore, social movements, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and associations have been central in making sure gender and women´s rights are constantly put on the country’s health and political agenda.