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: The Namibian
A 34-year-old woman's hopes of finally becoming a mother were dashed after suffering her seventh miscarriage in eight years this week.
Source: The New Times
First Lady Jeannette Kagame, yesterday attended a steering committee meeting for the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/Aids (OAFLA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Source: This Day Live
Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT), Society for Family Health, Prof. Shima Gio has said that cervical cancer is no longer a death sentence in women as there are many ways of treating it now.
Source: Vanguard
NIGERIA is taking her place among nations worldwide in March 2014 as activities for the "Million Woman March for Endometriosis Worldwide" kick off in earnest as part of the ongoing campaign to save Nigerian women from the pain and trauma of endometriosis.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Source: Health-e
A heartbroken woman who gave birth to a stillborn baby in early December fears her husband's family will banish her because of her inability to bear children.
Source: The New Dawn
Barely 46 percent of pregnant women in Liberia, who gives birth in hospitals, are assisted by skilled attendants, according to the United Nations Population Fund or UNFPA. This grim reality speaks to the urgent need for adequate professionally trained midwives to save the lives of both babies and mothers.
Source: The Chronicle
World Vision-Ghana says there has been some significant improvement in child and maternal health in Ghana over the last two decades.
Source: The Reporter
Cervical cancer is now one of the most common cancers in women overall, exacerbated by the lack of reproductive health information for women and delayed access to treatment in rural areas.
According to the World Cancer Research Fund, "About 86 percent of cervical cancer cases occur in less developed countries. The highest incidence of cervical cancer is in Eastern, Western and Southern Africa."
The cervix is the lower, narrow end of the uterus. The cervix connects the vagina (birth canal) to the uterus. The uterus (or womb) is where a baby grows when a woman is pregnant.
Cancer is a disease in which the cells in the body develop out of control. When cancer starts in the cervix, it is called cervical cancer. Cancer of the cervix is often deadly as it metastasizes or spreads to other parts of the body.
Cervical cancers don't always spread, but those that do most often spread to the lungs, the liver, the bladder, the vagina, and the rectum.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer. HPV is a common virus that is passed from one person to another during sex. Unfortunately, at least half of sexually active people will have HPV at some point in their lives. However, not all women will get cervical cancer but all women are at elevated risk.
The majority of cases occur in midlife rather than old age and it is one of the most common cancers in women under 35. Preventative cervical screening programmes can cut cervical cancer death rates and provide a means of early detection.
When cervical cancer is found early, it is highly treatable and is often associated with long survival and good quality of life outcomes.
Types of cervical cancer
There are two main types of cervical cancers: squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. About 80 to 90 per cent of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. Squamous cell carcinomas starts in the surface of the cells that line the cervix that can rapidly multiply into active cancer.
Cervical adenocarcinomas seem to have become more common in the past 20 to 30 years but still only make up 5 to 10 per cent of cervical cancers. This form is more difficult to detect as it often starts higher up in the cervical canal and is commonly missed by a screening test.
Although most cervical cancers are either squamous cell carcinomas or adenocarcinomas, other types of cancer also can develop in the cervix as well. These types include melanoma, sarcoma, and lymphoma but they are more likely to occur in other parts of the body.
Symptoms of cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is often silent. In the early stages there are usually no symptoms and that's the purpose of screenings to pick up abnormal cells before it's too late. Once cancer is established, the most common symptom is bleeding between periods or after sex. Menstrual bleeding may also be heavier or last longer than normal.
Other common symptoms include pain in the pelvic area before, during or after intercourse as well as pain or difficult urination. Another red flag is any sort of unusual or unpleasant smelling discharge from the vagina. However, these symptoms may indicate other problems than cervical cancer as well.
More than 95 percent of cervical cancer cases can be prevented – get checked now.
Source: The Herald
Mutasa-Mariam Chiremba (27), an expecting mother of Chinzou Village under Chief Mutasa in Manicaland Province prepares her lunch in a well built kitchen at Sherukuru Clinic while other expecting mothers wait patiently for their turn in the shelter.
Source: FrontPageAfrica
Monrovia — The United Nations Population Fund UNFPA, has provided delivery kits to mothers and children at the James Davids Hospital in Paynesville and the Phebe Hospital in Gbarnga, Bong County.