For nearly 75 years, CARE has been working to address the root causes of suffering and to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to people in need. Operating in more than 100 countries, CARE’s work focuses on women and girls because evidence shows that addressing gender equalities is key to effectively responding to crises and their underlying factors. For these reasons, CARE is deeply concerned about the implications that the spread of COVID-19 might have on women and girls in development and humanitarian settings. Informed by lessons learned from past public health emergencies, CARE’s analysis shows that COVID-19 outbreaks in development or humanitarian contexts could disproportionately affect women and girls in a number of ways, including adverse effects on their education, food security and nutrition, health, livelihoods, and protection. Even after the outbreak has been contained, women and girls may continue to suffer from ill-effects for years to come.

This report is also available as an Executive Summary.