all stories and correspondents on instagram and twitter had a list at news website as well as d.w. dot com told me a lot and one for me and the entire news team thanks for watching. combating the corona pandemic. where does research stand. what are scientists learning. background information and news. hour corona update. 19 special next on d w. how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when will all of this. produce through the text and weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like any

information on the clone a virus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcasts you can also find us at. science. pregnancy is a stressful time for any expect another was even more true now because of the pandemic pregnant women could be a greater risk of developing serious side effects from cough it 19 for the still much experts don't know about how the virus affects mothers and how it's transmitted to babies some women have been refused medical care or actively stayed away from also missiles fearing infection i'm suffering from cope at 19 i was just diagnosed in the parts hospital and they refused to treat. birth control and family

planning services have fallen down the list of health care priorities during the pandemic has meant to search an unplanned pregnancies and life altering decisions for many young women. the covered 19 pandemic is creating unexpected side effects around the world and malawi a huge spike in teen pregnancies is being blamed on virus related school closures human rights organizations say the government isn't doing enough to protect the girls' welfare. garro reports. a group of mothers of been making regular home visits providing guidance to young girls like 17 year old. she leaves them alone in a village. she fell for married man who promised start a smartphone and food which turned out to be empty promises now she's pregnant. you know when you when i was in school i used to have

a lot of problems because my family is poor and i could not have soap body lotion clothing or food. my mother failed to 10 for us children and so i was having sex and eventually got pregnant. he's a saint she did not know but the man his marring and his 2 children unfortunately she never used birth control. and him in that way i was aware of family planning methods but my schoolmates deceived me they said using contraceptives would make me unable to have children so when the man proposed to me we had sex and he got me pregnant. outraged parents sent. her mother said she. and her baby. going to this was a big blow to my family my poor anti pregnancy is an added burden that i couldn't handle when coming here when i do i'm in the district has stepped up its efforts to

reduce teenage pregnancies it feels more teenage girls who get pregnant without proper messaging about family planning and a few schools are not open source. we are really starting with the increased number of think they can i think but we know that we. feel that we have with different court as we can indeed reveal. according to figures from the national helpline under regional department of social welfare teenage pregnancies in the district have 3 board one reason to care it seems like some of them are not dignitas was reading in terms of counseling. psychosocial support goes. in there you can although as of now. schools across we'd be. even though they could be disrupted was we one of the people that the people writing these 6 reproductive will say this is for young people i lol occupied no be able to moment we don't think he says if at

all they present themselves as people think their so we are thinking that these it is that or this is this is before school was closed it is a week to harden plans to achieve our dreams of becoming a teacher but she remains determined to continue our education despite all the obstacles. and burn actually made this isn't the end of my aspirations after i have the baby i'll do my best to go back and finish school. i get out when. he's on doesn't want to be one of the many young girls in malawi who get married before the age of 20 and she has lain tabi to listen and hope to bring her dreams back to life. well let's speak to a need to make in this from the international federation of obstetricians and gynecologists thanks for joining us what do we know about the impact that covered 19 is having on unwanted pregnancies. so then i mean this is

a very serious situation that prediction is that about something like 48000000 women won't have access to contraceptive methods and that this could lead to something between 7 and 15000000 unintended pregnancies load wide so you can imagine this will create huge. health systems. across the world and an increasing number of unsafe abortions shot this isn't unprecedented there is it to mean you've been researching the effect of the voter outbreak in parts of africa or on family planning one of you learnt from looking at that outbreak that we can apply now. so when we look at what happened in west africa during the every african the journey every academic. people start accessing health so this isn't what they considered to be non-essential and say the name so clinic appointments went down for example in guinea by about 2 percent and it's

taken found it funny math is also went down by about 2 thirds are in the epidemic and then similarly added liberian by how off by 50 percent and i mean sierra leone by about a quarter. say the impact of that in the long run was then very very serious and what about in the case of coronavirus looking beyond africa where there are already problems but what about in higher income countries of the lower income countries around the world. yes similarly our expectations over what has been happening what we've been hearing on the great by really is that. women are trying not to access health services that they can i consider not essential and so the uptake of contraceptive methods is has gone down the other thing that happened in high income countries is that there was for example in the u.k. a shift stuff and closing down services and active service is all services that

were considered not essential like sexual health so sexual health clinic placed as a test often go work on the cove it was and g.p.'s not seeing people face to face doing 10 minutes in consultations limited really women's access to contraception and so we will be seeing the fallout of that no doubt 9 months from now and we're talking about millions potentially of extra births as a result of this a noticeable increase in the global population. yes so so the estimation is between $7.00 to $15000000.10 extra unintended pregnancies both wind and obviously different countries to different proportions button and country spend french and health systems that struggle to cope with the workload they have at the moment that is very serious and it will set his back in terms of the progress that has been made and we look at sustainable development goals and the

improvements in house pet that have been seen in women's health and joining the millennial development goals who are going back in time with that so really really laurie is there anything being done to avoid that or at least to to mitigate it. yeah so so you feel guilty and i wish and i work full we've been working very hard we've put together a conception committee put together a statement looking at specific things that could be done to try to mitigate this. one of the ideas for example this is which will continue to use for example women coming to give birth generally will continue to come to hospital to give birth although that's not true all over the globe assenting and many countries that will continue to happen said that these women should then be able to access services that they wouldn't be wouldn't want to use that as a contraception they may think that actually we should be printing contraception contraception says this into maternal health and so a lady comes to have

a baby people told her her battle contraceptive method she she wants and she gets that method therefore she leaves hospital and if you use a long lasting bath like the post pot in true trying to devise if you coil or implant then you're looking at having contraception for 3 to 5 to even 10 years and so there isn't any to keep coming back to hospital clinics so in that sense you know really safe and a golden opportunity to offset this health said is that otherwise they're finally home to access i suppose it's to some extent about making the most of those encounters with these women when they do encounter health care workers need to make ins from the international federation of obstetricians and gynecologists thanks a lot for joining us thank you. and now it's time for one of your questions to ask science correspondent derek williams this one comes from a you tube user corning themselves motion leda one presumably watching us from afar

. when will not ask to no longer be needed. this largely theoretical question i think is worth thinking about even though there's no end in sight to the pandemic the issue of wearing masks has polarized people in some countries at least partly due to the fact that despite a huge amount of study in the field nobody has been able to pin down a concrete number on just how much they actually help and and how could studies reflect the real world anyway i mean we're all wearing different kinds of masks often haphazardly either up biding by or not abiding by a lot of different national rules there does however now seem to be a general acceptance by the majority in most places that masks help at

least some if they're worn properly and in societies like here in germany where widescale mask wearing was was unthinkable just 6 months ago they're now just a part of daily life when you go to the store when you get on public transport the thing is after working so hard to get people to accept i think that governments will be slow to say that masks are no longer needed at some point in other words there's no way to tell how long we'll need to wear them there's there's just predicting what has to happen before governments are willing to relax guidelines and my hunch is that at this point most governments won't be willing to do that until safe and effective vaccine start keeping infection rates under control i personally predicts that we'll still be wearing masks in. at least in some settings

until that least the middle of 2021 course that's one of these cases where i'd be really happy if my prediction proved wrong. as a science correspondent eric williams if you want to submit a question for him you can do so through you tube channel that's all from us about . small acts who can inspire big change the people making it possible can go africa fantastic right. join them as they set out to save the environment learn from one another and work together for a better future for. many cause you all for tuning in the cold comfort the. next d.w. . largest piece of field research one. despite the fears

and uncertainties of months to come among democrats been a labor of innovation. ushering in a new solution. is the. progress. the only book one took me injured. in 60 minutes t.w. . like . mughal or just love was good for the russian soul. it runs deep. so many different walks of life. some are pumping. oddly trying to. the goal

is to come street art just for c.n.n. even when there's no money dilution the mushroom inches. from here. to their final resting place the russians on the w. documentary. with. hello did you know that your holiday photos can for signs the pictures you take could be a source of data i can help protect biodiversity we'll have more on that later but welcome to you cough into the weekly environment so i'm now it's a way in lagos nigeria has a look at what we have coming up on the show today. we'll find out how people

exactly go out of my single still be rushing. out with any gumby out of cycling blasting the way. my wife volunteers and the council boss of law. will begin to show in senegal a country that is home to some 15000000 people about 4 decades ago a forest in the northwest of the country to combat the problem of coastal devotion it changed the lives of farmers there but now yes lisa population growth and other factors are putting a strain on this forest let's go see. a bountiful harvest of. plans that's not something that former loose money so tasteful content. here's one of over 20000 followers living in the new year's region of northwest in santiago. many live close to the closed

and still potentially face of threats of erosion and sand storms. but a belt of trees is helping to protect them. almost 200 kilometers long it's 500 metres wide at its narrowest point. the forest was planted 40 years ago as a shield against wind and coastal erosion. regional farmers union representative from a modern day it says the philip trees or whistling pines west the civic lead shows and because they can thrive in the hostels that environment and because the steady lies the dunes. will move from city of ramadi new suburb right here where we are no was once nothing but it was and another is is known for his living duties or means before these trees we're plugged into. we did with a cause like this they call that much learn these things and he needed to produce

other cultural activities they've made it possible for the foremost to sense and here it was but i'm a thorough proved to be that today 60 percent of senegalese vegetable production comes from the new i use region. an estimated 225000 tonnes of produce here on early. it has become the country's food basket and it was a pine trees that allowed farmers like a smaller so to create their fields. if you really want to because we were going with this was only after the trees were planted that were able to live and work the land. at 1st you could only put up temporary shelters because everything is. in sort of pine trees asunder stable and because of that we have a fertile forest and beautiful homes i can cultivate vegetables want to. talk not

a model. it's a delicate balance though the farmers need the trees for protection but the growing population means the demand for timber for feel and fulfilled in fairness is also growing and of. the solution the forest has been divided up into some 200 plots monitored by different i would cultural and forestry groups. each group decides which trees can be felled according to strict school says. saplings up to replace and each reset or chop down this there is reason even some planes to farmers all over the coast. but only. as you can see it's because of the abundance of pine trees that we have for talana to maintain the forest is central to the work of our association. in

order to do we have to plan to replenish trees it's a crucial to sustainable development but that's a good one doug what they've done trees are in their plastic chutes to ensure the absorb as much moisture as possible then the plastic is cut away to let the tree take root over $50000.00 trees are planted each year and hopefully they'll also protect future generations informants from encroaching sand and rising sea levels. well the 1st road on the african continent was constructed in south africa and cape region the new paving technology has only been tested in a few countries got inclusive but it's already looking like a good alternative conventional made from petroleum it's columbus all of this plastic world is built from mountain waste 2000000 plastic bags or

650000 plastic bottles removing all of that waste from the environment would definitely make a difference this street has even been a nominee to add was sought after it got equal logic award it's a great idea that we owe a lot of promise yes this week's doing your bit. these cars are driving on plastic bottles shopping bags and packaging. the 1st road in south africa made from plastic trash is proving its worth no cracks no potholes. the 1.7 kilometers stretch of road in port elizabeth was made of an asphalt compound containing pellets of shredded plastic this project was commissioned to test the feasibility of building roads like these in south africa the white backing that we did something that i think that would have been a cycling on see that for one thing right. 2 by removing but they did on the bench

about reducing them because the requirements and the need for using have fossil fuels and that the defense of it is a byproduct of oil and obviously reducing the amount of fast that that's into that all add that and potentially internationally the company says that compared to standard asphalt or concrete roads there's also last longer in south africa only 16 percent of plastic waste is recycled the rest ends up in landfills science or the environment every kilometer of the. new roadway uses the equivalent of almost 690000 plastic bottles for the project is now among the finalists for a prestigious south african. and how about you if you. tell us about it visit our website oh send us a tweet. hash tag. we

share your stories. in our next report we had 21 of the smallest countries on the mainland of africa but like many west african countries a lack of functioning waste disposal system waste is a serious problem trash is everywhere in the rivers on the fields and piled up in the streets like wherever people are this is where a women's initiative is helping to reduce the amount of rubbish grumbled recycling while providing women with some extra income. a working woman is so enjoyable because. any development in the world 1. 100 percent of the adult in anything

and. it will you know. has been called the queen of recycling before you get fiber to the community you have to walk maybe one and a half. before you get to the forest. for one. you know it's to close off your time the real poor people you're going to get access to the chapel what do with this one is this wherever you are importantly. you know me but these are 2 was the founder of the ngo women's initiative the gambia it's found a way to produce fuel brick hurts from the shells of peanuts or ground nuts for.

grown nuts or the gambia is main cash crop and export product left to decay the shells produce c o 2 and methane so 1st there crushed them slowly burned. who knows it them well. we are here for our families we come every morning to this place to earn as much as we can for them when there was little aus us to pay the school fees and school materials when i get up in the morning at 6 to come here there are up to 500 other women here. their families wouldn't survive without this job. did was of the look at will be those that. had a landfill near c. size village these women are collecting discarded glass plastic and leftover fabric dumped by local seamstresses if you know what to look for there are rich pickings to be had. from around says hi as one of you said to his 1st partners she remembers

that there was something national skepticism about the project and the idea of women gaining financial independence. when i started in 1907 my family thought i was crazy. as a young married woman i was expected to get up in the morning and cook food for my husband in the kitchen but my family and my husband had to watch me heading off to the dumping ground they told me i wasn't a good wife they expected me to be home with my husband. well they had no idea what i was up to a book about better the good. at this time of year there's not much growing in the central river region it's over 40 degrees celsius and the rains won't come for another 6 months but people still need to earn a living. get what they get back to demand of the community and i never blame them for that because that's the nature and that's the culture that we're living in what

i always said culture is also the idea one who. is about to the reason that we are leaving and what feels a man leading is not a problem what women feel today they have a right to eat because they are contributing. member of the recycling center in the village of and you know where he said he sees i comes from was the 1st in the gambia. she employed just 5 women to begin with they would collect and clean up old plastic bags and then leave them and to new ones today up to 20000 people across the country work with or for her and geo. they produce briquettes soap bags jewelry and toys some of the best selling items are purses made from reclaimed plastic. and. village banks look after the money earned by the women's groups around the country so it doesn't

all disappear into their household spending. we want to empower them to want to clean them on economy how you can economy lead to that behalf. so when david one is from the sea of deposit if you this $100.00 you have to sit back and tell us how much you want to do you want to kick or whatever happens you have to put someone into here because we are planning for them or. when you said to seaside i was growing up this area was covered with mahogany and acacia trees. deforestation and climate change have transformed the landscape into an arid step. funded by donations the women's initiative also started a project called reforest the future. of water from a well irrigates the newly planted seedlings. along with indigenous trees like

mahogany and the women are growing mango and coconut trees the saplings are still in a tree nursery but will eventually be distributed across the country. you want to make a change. be be 100 percent sure that it will never be overnight and then you have to have an expectation that if it is 100 people living within your area 75 both and we'll see in awe at the beginning what let's that's for you let everybody tried to make sure that whatever you are establishing let it be. and it is helping to hide. from the forests of the ground to the last in the meadows of england it's a lot of crises there not only lovely to look at but they're also play an important role in the ecosystem volunteers taking part in what's reportedly the world's biggest survey of flies and is

a huge help in assessing the health of the. rights of. a red admiral. a small light. and this is called a comma. environmentalist simon savile has no problems finding butterflies here in hutchinson's bank and they to reserve on the outskirts of london. that industrial agriculture and of an isolation have caused massive line numbers to drop. experts say 3 courses of species in the u.k. are in decline these delicate creatures are important pollinators and pest control is. really helpful to know what part of ice where they are flying because the butterflies are a very good indicator of the quality of the environment how well is the environment being managed for the water life. today is another view the wildlife charity pacify .