Coronavirus pandemic

Since November 2019, the spread of Covid-19 has affected and continues to affect billions of people around the world.

There have been more than 758 million confirmed cases of the disease globally, and over 6.8 million deaths.1

The repercussions of this pandemic are enormous. Along with the millions of lives lost to the virus, many more livelihoods have been destroyed - the majority of them women’s, who were working in informal and insecure employment.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 has unleashed a surge in violence against women and girls across the world. In Nigeria, for instance, there has been a 149% monthly increase in cases of violence against women since the beginning of the pandemic, but lockdowns have shuttered and closed life-saving services for women at a time when they have been most needed.

Find out more about coronavirus, ActionAid’s response, how countries have been affected and what you can do to help.

The coronavirus pandemic: facts and figures

There have been more than 758 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 globally.
Over 6.8 million people have died.
It is estimated that 71 million additional people will be pushed into extreme poverty due to the pandemic.2

As of February, Europe is the region that has been most affected by the pandemic, with more than 273 million confirmed cases.1 But the Americas has seen the greatest number of deaths: more than 2.9 million1.

The US, China and India have seen the highest number of confirmed cases. The United States has seen the highest number of confirmed deaths: more than 1.1 million.

In the UK, as of March 2023 there have been 24 million confirmed cases, and nearly 207,000 deaths.

But as the rollout of vaccinations around the world begins to protect people against infection and death, the gap between rich and poor countries is becoming stark.

Globally, on average 169 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine have been delivered per 100,000 people. But in many of the world's poorest countries, this number falls dramatically: in Burundi, for example, the number of doses per 100,000 people is just 0.3.1

What is Covid-19?

Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.

The Covid-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.3

How is the pandemic affecting women and girls?

As is the case in almost all disasters and emergency situations, women have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

Often being the primary caregivers for children, the sick and the elderly, they are most likely to be exposed to the virus.

They are also more likely to work in insecure, informal jobs – the first to be cut in a crisis.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has unleashed a surge in violence against women and girls across the world, made worse by being locked down or quarantined at home, with little or no access to life-saving services and support networks.

Due to the closure of schools, girls have been put at greater risk of experiencing violence at home – even leading to increases in teenage pregnancies.

ActionAid’s response to the pandemic so far

In April 2020, ActionAid declared an emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our global response aimed to support close to 15 million people across 40 countries, particularly women and girls and marginalised groups.

Our priorities have been the prevention and containment of Covid-19; protection of women and girls; and providing urgent aid including food and water.

As in all emergencies, we have put into action our women-led, localised response to the pandemic: promoting women's leadership, ensuring women are empowered to make decisions about the needs of their community, and amplifying the voices and representation of women in humanitarian decision-making spaces.

We have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic in 40 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.

We have reached over 25 million people with our life-saving support: delivering food supplies, distributing essentials like soap and water, funding women’s shelters and combating the spread of misinformation with awareness-raising projects like local radio broadcasts.

This includes:

4,002,986 people reached with food support, including food parcels
2,630,377 people reached with WASH/hygiene support
52,879 people who received cash support.

What to do if you think you have coronavirus

If you are in the UK, and you or anyone you know may have the coronavirus, there are services that can help.

NHS advice about coronavirus

The National Health Service (NHS) provides advice about coronavirus (COVID-19), including what to do if you think you have it and how to reduce your chances of getting it.

What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature or a new, continuous cough), use the 111 coronavirus service.

What are the number of coronavirus cases and risk in the UK?

The current situation is ever-evolving but you can find the latest information on the UK government's website.

Footnotes

1https://covid19.who.int/
1https://covid19.who.int/
1https://covid19.who.int/
1https://covid19.who.int/table
2https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/goal-01/
3https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1

Top photo: ActionAid staff members in Nepal are working in their communities delivering quarantine kits containing soap, sanitiser, thermometer and mask. Credit: Sabin Shrestha/ActionAid

Page updated 1 August 2024