All humanitarian crises disproportionately impact women, girls and people on the margins of society — and that’s especially true right now in Ukraine.
After all, most men have been prohibited from leaving the country, and Ukraine’s population is 54 percent female. Today, the ranks of Ukraine refugees teem overwhelmingly with the most vulnerable –women, children, the elderly, and the disabled. So, as the world grapples with how to respond to the estimated 3.3 million people who have been forcibly displaced, it’s essential to consider why and how the global response should be different as well.
For women caught in the conflict, there are an array of heightened dangers. An estimated 80,000 women in Ukraine are expected to give birth in the next three months, and many of them are without access to adequate maternal healthcare. In addition, 12,000 of those 80,000 women will require life-saving emergency obstetric and newborn care for complications in pregnancy.