The maternal mortality ratio is unacceptably high in Africa. Forty per cent of all pregnancy-related deaths worldwide occur in Africa. On average, over 7 women die per 1,000 live births. About 22,000 African women die each year from unsafe abortion, reflecting a high unmet need for contraception. Contraceptive use among women in union varies from 50 per cent in the southern sub-region to less than 10 per cent in middle and western Africa" UNFPA
Early and unwanted childbearing, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and pregnancy-related illnesses and deaths account for a significant proportion of the burden of illness experienced by women in Africa. Gender-based violence is an influential factor negatively impacting on the sexual and reproductive health of one in every three women. Many are unable to control decisions to have sex or to negotiate safer sexual practices, placing them at great risk of disease and health complications.
According to UNAIDS, there is an estimated of 22.2 million people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan African in 2009, which represents 68% of the global HIV burden. Women are at higher risk than men to be infected by HIV, their vulnerability remains particulary high in the Sub-Saharan Africa and 76% of all HIV women in the world live in this region.
In almost all countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, the majority of people living with HIV are women, especially girls and women aged between 15-24. Not only are women more likely to become infected, they are more severely affected. Their income is likely to fall if an adult man loses his job and dies. Since formal support to women are very limited, they may have to give up some income-genrating activities or sacrifice school to take care of the sick relatives.
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Source: IPS
Marguerite Kassa feared she would find herself alone in the small crowd of a dozen other pregnant women at the integrated health centre in Mossendjo, in the southwestern Republic of Congo.
Source: AllAfrica
"WOMEN think that when you're married, you don't have to worry about HIV. They think it is a safe haven,"said Beauty Nyamwanza of the National Aids Council.But marriage can actually fuel the risk of HIV among women, particularly the young.
Source: The Southern Times
In many cultures, premarital sex has for long been a taboo, but things are changing. More and more, young people are engaging in sex while still in school or soon after completing their basic studies.
Source: All Africa
For a woman who lives in the urban centre, has education, a job and a gainfully employed spouse- living on two incomes guarantees a sense of safety. For the rural woman, who performs unpaid household chores, has no education or any steady income or nutritious meal, and a spousal relation with a man of no means- life is a risk each and every hour.
Source: Plus News
A new government study has found that more than half of workers in Swaziland's garment industry are living with HIV, and officials are realizing that the once-hailed promise of manufacturing employment has become