Ukrainian Women’s Fund representative Anastasia Perepylytsia on effects of COVID-19

Anastasia Perepyltysia from Ukrainian Women’s Fund in Zaporizhzhia region talks about the key problems for women living in rural areas, including the lack of access to basic medical products and services due to suspended public transportation. In critical situations, they have to pay additional costs to hire private transportation to get to the hospitals or pharmacies located in regional or local centers. She remarks that women with disabilities or those suffering from underlying diseases are the most vulnerable. Women whose main income comes from subsistence farming, are left with no financial resources to support their families, due to local food market closures. The need to arrange distance learning for children and leisure activities leading to high emotional and psychological stress and an unfair burden for rural women.