A look into why gender-sensitive responses matter. Sahana 1 applies a thick coat of foundation over her blackened eye – a scarring reminder of her intoxicated husband’s – expected -- outburst last night. A continent away, Rafiya 2 holds on to the last few morsels of tinned fish for the week. Being a sex worker in her locality, food aid can be hard to come by. And with signs of infection on the cards, Valentin 3 grapples with the decision to loosen his chest binding; the odds did not work in his favour. A few borders away, a single mother, Geetha, begs to have her job back. The truth that COVID-19 impacts all genders is a seed that states and decision-makers find difficult to digest. Therein, it goes without saying that the need for gender-sensitive response mechanisms to fight a deadly pandemic has become palpably clear. Gender inequality is both universal and multi-dimensional. But the political, social and economic workings of gender between the global North and the glob