Celebrating International Women’s Day During an Epidemic

Countries hit by outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are celebrating International Women’s Day despite the cancellation of multiple events.In China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus which originated in the northeastern city of Wuhan, state-run news outlets celebrated the female health workers on the frontlines of the crisis.State-run media outlet Xinhua profiled female laboratory technicians, nurses, and psychological professionals helping those affected by the outbreak to honor International Women’s Day.According to the World Health Organization, roughly 70% of the global health workforce is female.Women make up 70% of the global health workforce. That’s why on #WomensDay, I remind everyone that the world needs 9 million more nurses & midwives to achieve #HealthForAll. 2020 is the year to #SupportNursesAndMidwives & to invest in their education & jobs. pic.twitter.com/ueK07bP5qO
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 8, 2020In South Korea, which is reporting the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, many events scheduled to celebrate the day were cancelled, the French Press Agency reported.”Although we can’t be physically together, our minds for realizing gender equality are stronger than ever,” the country’s gender equality minister Lee Jung-Ok said in a video message.In Italy, which has reported the most deaths from COVID-19 outside of China, a quarter of the country was on lockdown as of Sunday.The theme of International Women’s Day 2020 is “Each for Equality”. “An equal world is an enabled world,” International Women’s Day wrote on their website. 
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