Reflecting on the Needs of Africa's Working Mothers

Balancing work and family obligations has long been a reality for women. In the past year however, the COVID-19 pandemic has upset this delicate juggling act, reminding us just how fragile the work-life dynamic can be and how many sacrifices women must make to succeed in either sphere of our lives, writes Namwinga Chintu.

Across Africa, the pandemic is forcing female health care workers and community volunteers - many of them working mothers - to either leave the workforce or double up under rapidly deteriorating working conditions. On a continent with the world's highest proportion of people living on less than USD1.90 per day, the reduced participation of women in meaningful and fairly paid work not only threatens to drive more families deeper into poverty, it also reduces our chances of ascending to positions of leadership and influence within critical sectors, health included.

InFocus

A creche at Chuka open-air market in Tharaka-Nithi County where mothers drop their babies in the morning. The facility has been constructed by the county government.

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