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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Every child has a right to education but lack of safe menstrual hygiene solutions are often a barrier to many girls especially in the rural areas where some families cannot afford to buy sanitary pads every month.
Source: UNFPA
Over two years ago, Greece became the centre of a refugee and migration crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people streaming into the country, many of them risking death to escape war, persecution and deprivation. In 2016 alone, some 173,000 people arrived in Greece, overwhelming local communities and resources.
KIGALI, Rwanda – Rwanda’s health system has seen great improvements in recent years, yet one area of health care remains underserved, particularly for young people: sexual and reproductive health.
Source: The Guardian
The number of women dying from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth has almost halved since 1990, a global report has revealed.
In the heat of a late September day in Mozambique, southern Africa, we started filming a meeting of young charity volunteers. They had poured heart and soul into an ambitious project aimed at combating HIV and spreading a message about contraception in the province of Gaza.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Family planning is a key tool for reducing poverty since it frees up women to work and leads to smaller, healthier families
Experts say confusion over the rights of local healthcare workers to provide the service while receiving US funds only benefits Trump administration.
Thanks to the recent expansion of HIV/AIDS services conducted by the United Nations migration agency, some 171,000 civilians and their host communities have gained benefit from these health facilities in South Sudan.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
When Ugandan schoolgirl Auma got her first period she asked her mother for sanitary pads. Her mother suggested she find herself a husband to pay for them. Auma was just 12.
Despite a 50 per cent drop in AIDS-related deaths since the peak of the epidemic, new HIV infection declines among adults are lagging, prompting the United Nations to launch a 10-point plan that lays out immediate, concrete steps countries can take to accelerate progress.
Source: The New Yorker
The Mbeubeuss landfill, on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, feels almost volcanic to visitors. Mountainous piles of waste encircle wide craters, where trash fires spew smoke and spit ash into the sky. The odor is nauseating: decaying foods and clothes, burnt plastic and tires. Sporadically, the scent of decomposing human flesh emerges from the fetor.