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: Leadership
With the recent report of 60,000 pregnant women dying yearly in Nigeria, it then makes it 166 deaths per day of women that die due to pregnancy complications. These are the reported cases, what about those that are not reported? It is now a matter of urgency for government to do more to reduce the scourge.
Source: The Observer (Kampala)
A new report released by the World Health Organisation says maternal deaths in Uganda have been declining at the rate of 5.1% annually over the last 10 years.
Source: Daily Trust
A total of 1046 women die in every 100,000 births in Zamfara State, State Team Manager of the Partnership for Reviving Routine Immunization in Northern Nigeria, Maternal New born and Child Health Dr Sani Dahiru Abubakar has disclosed.
Source: All Africa
A new Lancet series on maternal and child nutrition examines the problems associated with undernutrition and successful interventions. A similar report released by Lancet in 2008 was critical in helping push nutrition higher on the development agenda.
Source: The New Vision
People with disabilities (PWDs) in Kasese district have been advised to avoid behaviour that may predispose them to acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Source: Capital FM
"Mum am I going to die" is the question that often accompanies that phenomenal moment when a young girl finds blood on her panty. Then the awkward moment where the mother has to explain a topic she avoided for years follows.
Source: Vanguard
IN reaffirmation of the centrality of women's health to human development, the death of a woman from maternal causes is to become a reportable occurrence in Nigeria. Currently, Nigeria has an average maternal death rate of over 600 dealths per 100,000 live births.
“Many hospitals and health centres” that are not run by NGOs “do not meet health standards,” according to Dominique Baabo, provincial medical inspector for North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Source: New Times
A woman in labour shouldn't see the second sunrise. That is an attention-grabbing quote from Dr Tekle G. Egiziabher, an obstetrician and gynecologist committed to helping women suffering from fistula.
Source: IPS
Liberian journalist Mae Azango says she spent a year living "like a bat, going from tree to tree" with her daughter in order to escape religious fanatics who were threatening to kill her for exposing the practice of female genital mutilation in her home country last year.
Source: The New Republic Liberia (Monrovia)
On the second day of Women Deliver 2013, the largest conference on girls and women of the decade, global leaders announced progress and new commitments toward expanding contraceptive access for women in developing countries. They also outlined plans for sustaining this momentum in the years to come.