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
Political instability, civil strife and humanitarian crises in Africa have over the past decades reversed countless maternal health development gains on the continent, health experts warn.
Source: IPS
Martha Borete Angela's gaze sinks to the ground as she admits neither of her two children was delivered by a midwife or doctor. The 28-year-old South Sudanese woman shared this fact in front of her classmates: first-year students in a programme for midwives at the Catholic Health Training Institute in Wau, a city in the western part of the country.
Source: Guttmacher Institute
The first national estimates of abortion incidence in Rwanda show that one in 40 women aged 15-44 had an abortion in 2009 and that virtually all of these abortions were clandestine procedures that are highly likely to be unsafe.
Source: The Herald
Complaints by Harare Central Hospital that defaulting mothers are crippling operations by sneaking out without settling their fees are only the tip of an iceberg.
Source: Daily Maverick
Speaking on World Tuberculosis Day, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said the government wants to reduce the HIV infection rate to zero by 2032. Such a future seems impossible given the government's shortcomings. Yet civil society is hopeful the dream just might come true. By GREG NICOLSON.
Source: The New Times
The debate on whether to legalise abortion has gained momentum following a recent study by the Ministry of Health and other partners, which showed that the national abortion rate is 25 abortions per 1,000 females aged between 15 and 44.
The police say the advertising of illegal and dangerous backstreet abortions isn't their problem -- it's a matter for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), because it's similar to "selling a car".
The turmoil in northern Mali is thwarting efforts to treat and prevent obstetric fistula, say health experts and local NGO workers.
Source: New Vision
A total of 320 women in Mbarara were on Saturday screened and tested for breast and cervical cancer at Mbarara referral hospital in western Uganda.
Source: Shabait.com
At a meeting conducted under the organization of the Health Ministry and NUEW in Gash-Barka region, the sub-zonal and Area administrators in the region emphasized that there is a need to combat harmful traditional practices which cause psychological and health problems to women.
Source: The Independent
A few weeks ago, on 8 March, the world celebrated International Women's Day, which serves as a clarion call to honor girls' and women's contributions to their families, communities and nations. As our global population swells to over 7 billion, we must heed this call by working to ensure that every girl and woman lives a long, healthy and happy life.