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: South African Government (Pretoria)
About 315 health facilities in the North West province are ready to roll out the new Fixed-Dose Combination (FDC) pill to HIV positive patients. The new pill, which is a combination of all three antiretroviral pills (emtricitabine, efavirenz and tenofovir),
Source: The New Vision
Jennifer Nayiko 29 years, a resident of Kawempe has been 'leaking' for 10 years. She has gone from doctor to doctor to try and stop the flow, but her condition gets worse by the day.
Source: SciDev.net
Researchers in South Africa have developed a low-cost tool to test for HIV drug resistance, potentially opening the door to improved treatment for users of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).
Source: This Day
To stem maternal mortality in Ebonyi State, the wife of the governor, Josephine Elechi has stepped up the campaign against obstetrics fistula.
Source: This Day
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is set to collaborate with the Ministry of Labour and Productivity towards reviewing the policy on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, in line with Recommendation 200, which is aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission.
Source: The New Vision
There was a time when a mere mention of high blood pressure and its sister illness, diabetes, brought to mind a grown man or woman in their 50s or 60s, but not anymore. Children as young as seven years, are being diagnosed with the illness, write Titus Kakembo and Priscilla Butera.
Source: New Era
The Oshakati Intermediate Hospital has suspended the two nurses and three support service staff members who were on duty in the maternity ward on the day Adeleheid Jacob lost her baby.
Source: The Star
Police in Nandi arrested a primary school headteacher for defiling and impregnating a standard eight pupil.
Source: SouthAfrica.info (Johannesburg)
About 180 000 HIV-positive South Africans will soon start taking fixed-dose combination antiretroviral (ARV) medication, which involves one tablet instead of three to five pills a day, reducing the risk of patients defaulting from treatment.
Source: Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)
I recently met a young woman named Mercy who had five children and was struggling to make ends meet. She had tried oral contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, but admitted that she often forgot to take the pill every day.
Source: The Star
The Kipsigis culture is a stumbling block in the fight to eradicate HIV/Aids in Bureti. Yesterday, Aids and sexually transmitted diseases coordinator Irene Mutai blamed the residents conservative nature.