Gender and COVID-19 Vaccines: Listening to women-focused organizations in Asia and the Pacific

Executive Summary

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed across at least 176 countries, with over 1.7 billion doses administered worldwide. Combating the pandemic requires equitable distribution of safe and effective vaccines, however, women and girls are impacted by gaps both in the supply side and the demand side that hamper equitable distribution of the vaccine.

Evidence reveals that 75% of all vaccines have gone to just 10 countries, and only 0.3% of doses have been administered in low-income countries. Very few of COVID-19 vaccines are going to those most vulnerable.

The vaccine rollout in Asia and the Pacific has been relatively slow and staggered amid secondary waves of the virus. India, despite being the largest vaccine developer, has only vaccinated 3% of the population and continues to battle a variant outbreak that, at its peak, was responsible for more than half of the world’s daily COVID-19 cases and set a record-breaking pace of about 400,000 cases per day. However, the small Pacific nation of Nauru, reported a world record administering the first dose to 7,392 people, 108% of the adult population within four weeks. Bhutan also set an example by vaccinating 93% of its eligible population in less than two weeks. That success could be at risk, given the situation in India and the suspended export of vaccines.

Related Reports

Growth is not enough

In 2022, more than 735 million people in the world were hungry. That’s 1 in 11 people worldwide. Relative improvements after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic are masking rapidly growing inequality. There are 84.2 million more women and girls than men and boys facing food insecurity. The gender food gap grew in many regions, including most of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East North America, and Europe. CARE’s analysis of data across 113 countries suggests that improving GDP is not enough. The most recent data shows that in situations with high inequality, economic growth can lead to higher food insecurity, especially since COVID-19. In 57 countries, GDP is growing AND food insecurity is rising. As gender and income inequality rise, so does hunger. Read More

Growth is not enough

Integrating Local Knowledge in Humanitarian and Development Programming: Perspectives of Global Women Leaders

This report examines local knowledge integration in the context of global development and humanitarian aid work. It builds upon a recently published report by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) called Integrating Local Knowledge in Development Programming. That report sought to “share knowledge of how development donors and implementing organizations leverage local knowledge to inform programming. This study aims to extend the original methods to better understand grassroots actors’ own interpretations of local knowledge and its integration into programming in their communities. It examines the perspectives of 29 grassroots leaders from women-led organizations around the world, looking deeply at the ways in which they conceptualize local knowledge and local knowledge stakeholders, their approaches to designing their own projects based on local knowledge, and their experiences sharing knowledge with international actors and donors. This builds the broader evidence base on integrating local knowledge to incorporate the perspectives of grassroots actors into the same conversation as the original study. Read More

Integrating Local Knowledge in Humanitarian and Development Programming: Perspectives of Global Women Leaders

Climate & Gender Capacity Statement

Women and girls are agents of change in global climate mitigation and adaptation. This capacity statement outlines how CARE centers gender equality in our climate change programming. Read More