Nigeria, July 16 -- Gender advocate and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates, has called on leaders and policymakers to ensure that women and girls are not left behind in the global response to COVID-19.

According to a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES, she made the call in a paper she released titled "The Pandemic's Toll on Women and Girls," where she explored how the COVID-19 pandemic has exploited pre-existing inequalities and drastically impacted women's lives and livelihoods.

To recover fully from this pandemic, she said, leaders must respond to the ways that it is affecting men and women differently.

This is as she lists practical policy recommendations that governments should consider in their...