Women left behind: Gender gap emerges in Africa's vaccines - Associated Press

Women who took it wouldn’t get pregnant again.

And Fatoumata Mballow, 29, struggling to get pregnant for a third time in a village where some women have as many as 10 children, quietly insists: “I don’t want to make it worse and destroy my womb.”.

As health officials in Gambia and across Africa urge women to be vaccinated, they’ve confronted unwillingness among those of childbearing age.

Officials who already bemoan the inequity of vaccine distribution between rich and poor nations now fear that the stark gender disparity means African women are the least vaccinated population in the world.

This story is part of a yearlong series on how the pandemic is impacting women in Africa, most acutely in the least developed countries.

“We do see, unfortunately, that even as COVID vaccines arrive in Africa after a long delay, women are being left behind,” said Dr.

The CDC, World Health Organization, and other agencies recommend pregnant women get vaccinated because they’re at higher risk of severe disease and death.

In Gambia, like many African countries, AstraZeneca was the only vaccine available initially.

Health officials have since made strides getting Gambian women vaccinated; they now make up about 53 percent of those who’ve had the jabs, up several percentage points from just a few months ago.

Roopa Dhatt, assistant professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, said it’s not surprising African women have been left behind, but addressing the problem is urgent.

“If they do not get vaccinated at the same rate as men, they will become this pocket for COVID-19, and it will make it more difficult for all of us to get out of the pandemic,” she said.

Jarju, 53, isn’t willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if it means missing even a day’s work.

Hawkes said some hope exists that any initial imbalances in COVID-19 immunization rates between men and women continue to even out in Gambia and other countries once they have steady vaccine supplies.

On a recent morning in the hospital’s maternity clinic, Manneh asked a group of dozens of expectant mothers how many had been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Initially, confusion stemmed from advice against vaccination for many women, said Marielle Bouyou Akotet, who leads the COVID-19 immunization plan in the central African nation of Gabon.

“As we did not know the effect of the vaccine on pregnant women, breastfeeding women and women who want to have a baby in the next six months, we recommended not to vaccinate this category,” said Bouyou Akotet, a professor at the University of Health Sciences in Libreville.

Meet the women of Serrekunda city, Gambia as they share how COVID has impacted their lives.

The rumors about COVID-19 and fertility have been especially troublesome in predominantly Muslim countries such as Gambia and Somalia, where polygamy is common.

Most women tell health care workers they won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine unless their spouse consents

“All the pregnant women coming here are not getting the vaccine because the husbands haven’t given their authorization,” he told the men

Fatoumata Nyabally’s job as a security officer puts her at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19, and she hasn’t been vaccinated

Of the 100 women approached that day at the hospital, only nine agreed to be vaccinated

This story is part of a yearlong series on how the pandemic is impacting women in Africa, most acutely in the least developed countries

See the full series on how the pandemic is affecting women in Africa: https://apnews.com/hub/women-the-eyes-of-africa