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Mr Niyi Ojuolape, the Country Representative for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), at the weekend said the outbreak of COVID-19 has doubled the plight of the ‘black girl’, especially in the developing world as their welfare was being overlooked.

“Being a black girl is hard. Being a black girl in the West is harder, as racism and gender inequality presents additional inhibitions.

“But even far more difficult is being a black girl in the developing world, where there is very little interest by cultural or political authorities to build a society that safeguards their rights and is conducive for them to thrive,” he said.

He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the welfare of the less privileged on the continent.

Mr Ojuolape said amid much less concern for the welfare of the black girl, the outbreak of COVID-19 had stalled global efforts to end child marriages and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which were relatively more common in Africa.

Recent research, he said, predicted there could be an extra 13 million child marriages and another two million cases of FGM as a result.

The coronavirus pandemic has also disrupted the availability of contraceptives for women and girls as the supply chain has faced repeated disruptions, Mr Ojuolape said.

He noted that as a result, millions of women in low and middle-income countries could lose access to contraception.