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.
For more information on HIV/AIDS and Reproductive health, please visit the following websites:
Source: All Africa
The #MaternalMonday Campaign of the Wellbeing Africa has canvassed the need to improve maternal health through better access to contraception.
Source: Daily Maverick Last week, Amnesty International presented the sobering outcome of 18 months of fieldwork in the area of maternal healthcare to the Third World Social Sciences Forum in Durban.
Source: Daily Mail
First Lady Esther Lungu is concerned that many women in Zambia do not have access to antenatal care services.
Mrs Lungu said this is particularly so for those in rural areas as health facilities are far from their dwellings.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
It took less than a minute for a panel of judges in Senegal to sentence seven men to six months in prison for homosexuality last week, but campaigners say the harm to the African nation's anti-HIV efforts could last much longer.
Senegal, a Muslim country regarded as a pillar of democracy in turbulent West Africa, is one of about 30 African states with anti-homosexuality laws. Yet the country of
Source: Ghana Web
The Lordina Foundation, together with its partners, on Monday organized a health screening exercise for women groups in selected communities in Accra in line with the advocacy and reproductive health service delivery campaign.
Source: Reuters
When Halima Rahim became a mother for the first time, friends and acquaintances in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar Es Salaam, were quick to offer advice and help.
Source: Leadership
Two radio dramas aimed at increasing knowledge on family planning, HIV/AIDS, adolescent reproductive health, women's education, and gender-based violence, will soon hit the Nigerian airwaves.
Source: The Star
UN HIV-Aids wants to be enjoined in a case challenging forced sterilisation of a woman living with HIV.
In court documents, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV-Aids secretari says the case concerns a subject at the core of UNAids' mandate.
Source: Open Democracy
Throughout Africa approximately 200-220 million people are living with schistosomiasis – also known as bilharzia - and 600 million people are at risk of being infected. Schistosomiasis is a waterborne disease, caused by worms that use aquatic snails as their intermediate hosts, and is particularly common in communities living near freshwater lakes, ponds and streams. Owing to the close association with water for washing, bathing and drinking, infection can be a daily occurrence but it can also
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
The mother of a 15-year-old rape survivor, who needs a kidney transplant following a botched backstreet abortion, filed a case against Kenya's government on Monday for denying women and girls safe access to terminations.
Source: allAfrica
The South African Gender Protocol@Work Summit got off to a sobering start yesterday when participants presented the work they are doing in their organisations and communities to help fight gender based violence (GBV).