By Alanna Armitage

SKOPJE, North Macedonia — When the time came for Marija Matovska to give birth, she and her husband had more than the usual worries of first-time parents on their minds. As they rushed to the hospital on 18 April, the streets of Skopje were empty. North Macedonia had been under lockdown for more than a month as the number of cases of COVID-19 continued to rise in this small Balkan country.

KYIV, Ukraine – Oleksandra’s* ex-husband was waging a quiet war against her, she says, one that escalated under quarantine.

She lives in the same apartment as her ex-husband and their two children. Sharing that space has always been fraught; she faced constant harassment, humiliation and physical abuse, she said. But after the lockdown, she felt like she had no escape, and she was afraid to seek help, knowing he might eavesdrop on her phone calls.

By Alanna Armitage

Across Europe, from Spain to Serbia, care homes for older people have become hotspots of COVID-19 infections. According to the World Health Organization, residents of long-term care facilities account for up to half of coronavirus deaths in Europe.

KARAKOL, Kyrgyz Republic – When Ainura*, 30, arrived at the medical centre in Karakol she was so badly bruised that the doctor asked how she could endure the pain. It wasn’t the first time that her husband had beaten her and kicked her out of the house. But, like many abusers, he had grown increasingly violent under lockdown.

ISTANBUL, Turkey – The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people and communities all around the world, but the disease poses heightened risks for older persons, a fact evident in all national data.

With the world’s highest share of people in this demographic group, Europe faces a particularly acute challenge in protecting the health of older persons and their caregivers, while ensuring that their voices, opinions and concerns are heard.

MERSIN, Turkey – Meryem, a Syrian refugee living in a tent settlement in southern Turkey, says her family struggles to maintain their health under even normal circumstances. Now, with more than 127,000 cases of COVID-19 in Turkey, she is even more concerned about creating a healthy environment for her children.

TURKESTAN, Kazakhstan — “I’m sure any woman or girl who has survived violence remembers all her life the day when it happened for the first time,” says Indira,^* a three-time survivor of sexual violence who lives in the southern Kazakh city of Turkestan.

“I made several suicide attempts. And then I thought – there are people who are ill, bed-ridden and they still find the strength to go on and live,” Indira says. “My faith in God and my mother’s support helped me get back on my feet.”

More than 47 million women could lose access to contraception, leading to 7 million unintended pregnancies in the coming months.