Written declaration No. 581 | Doc. 13622 | 01 October 2014
Protecting women and children in a humanitarian crisis
During the summer 2014 several humanitarian crisis flared up around the world with the vast majority of internally displaced persons and refugees being women and children. They represent the most vulnerable group among the refugees: at risk of sexual violence, including rape and exposed to trauma, malnutrition and disease. The lack of access by women, especially pregnant women, to reproductive health services is a major health disaster:
By September, in Gaza, 46000 women were pregnant and 10000 of them displaced; in Syria 200000 and in Northern Iraq 60000 pregnant women in need of urgent care; in Ukraine, a large portion of IDPs are women, many of whom are pregnant. In Liberia 3 out of 4 Ebola fatalities are women and in Sierra Leone they are 3 out of 5. Female nurses represent the majority of the health staff infected and dying from the virus.
We call on Council of Europe member States to respond to the disproportionate impact of humanitarian crisis on women and children and urge the States to prioritize funding for women, children and their health needs.
We encourage the international community to consider the long-term impact of health infrastructure rebuilding and the need for psychological support for those impacted.