LAUSR

Women aged 15–49 years are considered to be in the reproductive age group. They are the main progenitor of the human population and consequently are the key determinant of the future workforce and economic growth. Themajority of these women are healthy, yet some have medical conditions that deserve evaluation and treatment. Some of thesemedical conditions are gynaecological and by their nature require privacy for assessment and treatment. This is of particular importance in many lowand middle-income countries (LMIC) where some cultures tend to promote patriarchy and limit the expressiveness of women and their access to healthcare. On 8 December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19), was reported in Wuhan, China. The disease, being highly contagious [1], spread rapidly across the world and was declared a pandemic on 11March 2020 by theWorld Health Organization. In response to the pandemic, many countries restricted social and economic activities to prevent the spread of the disease, and to prepare healthcare facilities to cope with the infection. Contemporaneously, access to healthcare facilities for “non-emergency” medical conditions was also restricted. These lockdowns resulted in many women not being able to access care for gynaecological conditions and many patients not wanting to go to hospital for fear of contractingCOVID-19, hence delayingdiagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, the resultant cash squeeze from the lockdowns contributed to women's inability to seek medical help for perceived non-serious conditions as healthcare payment in many LMIC is by out-of-pocket expenses. Procurement of drugs, supplies and equipment not used for managing COVID-19 infection was delayed [2]. Clinicians working in other specialities were prepared and redeployed to manage COVID-19 complications. The situation affected many industries, including transport and education. As a result, virtual meetings and scholarly webinars became commonplace and may remain so in the future. Where the facility exists, telemedicine has been utilized to prevent unnecessary contact with patients. However, there has been concern that consultation over the telephone may be inadequate in addressing obstetrical and gynaecological conditions [3]. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, both emergency and nonemergency benign and malignant gynaecological conditions in LMIC were treated without any restriction. The patients with nonemergency gynaecological conditions were usually given scheduled appointments. Conversely, emergency cases are prioritized and managed immediately. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, treatment of many non-emergency benign gynaecological conditions was postponed. While termination-of-pregnancy services were offered in some