The road to recovery and a resilient future runs through rural areas. Already before the COVID-19 pandemic, hunger was on the rise globally, and progress against poverty had stalled. Hunger devastates the lives of hundreds of million people across the world, not only robbing them of a future but weakening their immunity and health. Now the coronavirus pandemic threatens to push back the development progress of recent decades and set up a roadblock on the path to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Over the next few months, IFAD and Devex will host a series of three virtual events to shed light on how the world’s most vulnerable people – rural communities in developing countries – are facing up to the impacts of COVID-19 on their health and their economies.

Spotlight on rural women

Women are major contributors to agriculture and rural economies. Restrictions on movement, increased caretaking duties and increased incidences of gender-based violence all impact healthy livelihoods. Lower incomes can also create secondary effects – as women typically invest in education, health care and business development.

To coincide with the United Nations’ International Day of Rural Women, this first virtual event will elevate the value these women and girls bring to their families and communities even during the COVID-19 pandemic.