In the year of the pandemic, women and children found themselves at even greater risk of exclusion across vast areas of the planet. The data in WeWorld's new report.
The coronavirus is a health, social and economic emergency. More than that, it is also a "multiplier of inequalities" that across vast areas of the planet has pushed the most vulnerable groups even further to the margins, undermining their fundamental rights. So says the non-profit organisation WeWorld, which with the new edition of its annual report is raising the alarm: in 110 out of 172 countries — that is, two in three — women and children are experiencing forms of exclusion. In 49 of these, such exclusion is severe or very severe.
Now in its sixth edition, the WeWorld index is an annual report that examines the level of inclusion of women and children in 172 states. The measurement is based on 34 indicators drawn from authoritative international sources such as the UN, Unesco, the World Bank and Unicef. In 2020, three new indicators were added in relation to the pandemic: confirmed Covid-19 cases, the change in annual GDP growth and the number of school closure days. The data processing yields a ranking in which the most inclusive states appear at the top and, conversely, those in which the most vulnerable groups live in severe conditions of exclusion appear at the bottom. Italy sits in 29th place, with an inclusion level rated "sufficient".
| Position | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | 105 |
| 2 | Finland | 99 |
| 2 | Iceland | 99 |
| 2 | Sweden | 99 |
| 5 | Denmark | 94 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 94 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 89 |
| 8 | Netherlands | 88 |
| 9 | Austria | 87 |
| 9 | Slovenia | 87 |
The study is the work of WeWorld, an Italian non-profit organisation with a range of projects aimed at guaranteeing equal access to resources, healthcare and education, as well as decent work, with a particular focus on protecting the rights of women and children. Its initiatives have more than 7 million direct beneficiaries and collectively reach nearly 50 million people across 27 countries.
| Position | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 160 | Guinea-Bissau | -80 |
| 161 | Eritrea | -83 |
| 162 | Guinea | -88 |
| 162 | Yemen | -88 |
| 164 | Nigeria | -91 |
| 165 | Afghanistan | -100 |
| 166 | Mali | -101 |
| 167 | Niger | -106 |
| 168 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | -109 |
| 169 | Mauritania | -112 |
| 170 | Central African Republic | -133 |
| 171 | Chad | -136 |
| 172 | South Sudan | -140 |
"Looking at the 2020 ranking with the Covid-19 indicators included, a general deterioration in the inclusion of women and children is evident," explains WeWorld president Marco Chiesara. Compared to last year, there are 5 per cent more countries failing to reach a sufficient level. Once the acute phase of the emergency has passed, the long-term impact of the pandemic is likely to fall more heavily on countries at the bottom of the ranking. Not so much because of the number of infections, but because these are poorer, more unstable territories already affected by other crises: "climate change and natural disasters, chronic conditions of poverty, armed conflicts, authoritarian and undemocratic governments, and, in the most extreme cases, forms of modern slavery," he continues.
With healthcare systems under enormous strain, for example, the provision of essential services such as vaccinations, contraceptives, and pre- and post-natal check-ups fell by 20 per cent globally. The near-immediate consequence was a rise in infant and neonatal mortality, in HIV transmission and in unwanted pregnancies. Some estimates, covering only countries with reporting systems in place, suggest a 25 per cent increase in episodes of violence suffered by women confined at home with their abuser.
The WeWorld index 2020 devotes an in-depth section to the education landscape, thrown into crisis by school closures that affected 1.52 billion students and 60 million teachers. Distance learning managed to substitute for this disruption only to a minimal degree, given that only 55 per cent of households have access to a stable internet connection. A figure that drops to just 19 per cent in the least developed countries. Following this abrupt interruption to their schooling, Unesco estimates that 11 million girls will drop out of education permanently, particularly in small rural communities — leaving them exposed to the risk of early pregnancy, abuse or forced marriage.
