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: Tanzania Daily News
EAST, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) Health Community intends to conduct free screening for breast and cervical cancer to all women of child bearing ages in Arusha region.
The UN agencies known as the H4+ support priority countries that take concerted actions to meet the Millennium Development Goals on maternal and child health. UNFPA has identified Zambia as one such country. The following feature shows some of the "Good Practices" the country has undertaken to expand access to reproductive health.
Woe unto a mother who goes to deliver in Mulago hospital at night or early morning. Chances are she could die.
Barrenness is a delicate subject in Uganda, where the stigma attached to women who cannot bear children is strong. These women are called “barren” or “infertile,” with some forced to leave their matrimonial homes or left by their husbands. Many turn to gynecologists, traditional healers and religious leaders for help. Medical experts say that there are 3.5 million cases of infertility in Uganda, making it a part of the “African Infertility Belt.”
Forced contraceptive sterilization of women living with HIV which occurred recently in the country, according to reports, is an unacceptable infringement on the woman's rights which hurts the gains in the efforts to turn the tide against the epidemic, senior Kenyan faith leaders are warning.
While the global community made progress in reducing under-five child mortality to below seven million per year, it risks failing to reach the global targets set for 2015 if action is not scaled up, according to a new report released by the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF Thursday.
Following a successful fistula repair surgery, 25-year-old Esther Joakim Chimoio envisions a better life. Although her husband abandoned her because of her condition, she now has ambitious plans that will allow her to take care of her children on her own.
Source: The Washington Post
The Namibia Press Agency reports that some 40 babies and fetuses are dumped and flushed down toilets every month in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital of just 350,000 people.
The demand for abortion in Uganda is high, despite legal and moral proscription. John Semakula explores how a mere policy can bring great cost and pain to citizens.
The government of Uganda has launched a vaccination campaign against cervical cancer - the most common type of cancer among Ugandan women - but there are already fears a nationwide rollout might be jeopardized by lack of funds.
Source: New Vision
Despite decades of international agreements declaring the need for urgent action to improve the wellbeing of women and newborns in the developing world, deaths and poor health have remained too high for too long among these groups.