Guidance for Action: Adapting Markets for COVID-19 Response - Safeguarding Women Market Vendors' Livelihoods

The World Health Organization (WHO) first characterized the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. By mid-April more than 2 million cases of COVID-19 were confirmed across the world, and over 100,000 people had lost their lives. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people were fighting for their lives in hospitals. This was not just a public health crisis; it was a crisis that would touch every sector – so every sector and every individual must be involved in containing the outbreak.