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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The Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) held its General Assembly, today 30 January 2012, at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme: “An HIV/AIDS free tomorrow needs caring men and women today”.
Source: RNW
Mbale — Female circumcision, often referred to as female genital mutilation, affects an estimated 92 million girls in Africa aged 10 and above. In Uganda, the practice was officially banned in 2009 but it is still practiced in rural areas by groups such as the Sabiny in the east of the country.
Breast cancer continues to be misunderstood, under-diagnosed and fatal, particularly in developing countries, say researchers, despite more than one million official annual diagnoses and almost half a million recorded deaths annually.
Source: Tanzania Daily News
A LAW to protect rights of mothers and adolescent girls in accessing reproductive health services is in the offing.
A small Kenyan study has found that more women than men feel HIV is a less serious threat after their male partners are circumcised; the study also made local news for finding that female partners of recently circumcised men found sex more enjoyable.
Source: Daily Monitor
At least 4,000 women in Karamoja have been enrolled for family planning to help households improve their livelihoods. Officials from Maries Stopes, an NGO working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health on reproductive health issues in the sub-region, said the response is positive.
Source: IPS
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 19, 2012 (IPS) - The proportion of abortions deemed unsafe rose from 44 percent in 1995 to almost half (49 percent) in 2008, according to a new study released Thursday.
A new study by the New York Guttmacher Institute states that the number of women having induced abortions has stayed stubbornly high since the last such report in 2003, and that the marked reduction in the eight years before that has not been maintained.
Source: The New Times
In this month of January, the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA) is featuring courteous maternity care by promoting Universal rights of expectant women.
Source: Daily Observer
The female representative in the National Youth Council (NYC) governing council, Adama Njie, has revealed that the estimates from the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNIAIDS) has indicated that close to 33.3 million are people living with HIV-AIDS and most of them are living in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Involving men is increasingly being promoted as a key element in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and while its benefits are well-documented - in one Kenyan study it reduced the risks of vertical transmission and infant mortality by more than 40 percent compared with no involvement - it can occasionally lead to domestic discord and even violence.