COVID-19 Lockdown Widens Health Care Gap for Female-Led Households in Morocco

"Even before being born, children from families headed by women live in a situation of unequal opportunities exacerbated by the crisis," the HCP said in a report published in collaboration with UN Women. This disparity in access to reproductive health care between these households is even more persistent in rural areas, according to this gender impact study report on the economic, social and psychological situation of households.

In rural areas, households headed by men are much more likely to access prenatal and postnatal care services, unlike households headed by women, at 69% versus 37%. Regarding free care in public hospitals, the observed gap is probably related to access costs, including transportation and others, the report pointed out, noting that male-headed households often have the means to allow their wives to access hospital units. The same goes for vaccination services, where a 17 percentage point difference, or 57% versus 40%, is observed.

As part of the partnership program between the HCP and UN Women called "Women Count", this report aims to promote an institutional environment conducive to the production, dissemination, use and strengthening of gender-sensitive statistics and support their dissemination and accessibility to all users in Morocco.