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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Source: The Star
PREGNANT women in Kiambu and Nairobi have asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to save them from queues during the March 4 elections.
Source: The New Times
Effective mechanisms are needed to prevent child pregnancies that threaten the Girl Child education in the country, the chairperson of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (Fawe), Rhona Nyakurama, has said.
Source: Doctors Without Borders
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is marking the 1,000th operation to correct obstetric fistula in Gitega, Burundi, but is concerned about the future of its project.
Source: The Star
A Mombasa women's representative candidate has promised to prioritise maternal health reforms if elected. Speaking at a rally in Tononoka grounds, Naima Badhawi said it is a pity that Kenyan women still die while giving birth.
Source: Amnesty International
PRESS RELEASE
The facts and figures below relate to the issues of sexual and reproductive rights, in the context of the International Conference on Population and Development.
Cervical cancer kills an estimated 275,000 women every year, 85 percent of whom are in developing countries. The link between HIV and cervical cancer is direct and deadly; HIV-infected women who are also infected with specific types of human papilloma virus (HPV) are 4-5 times more susceptible to cervical cancer than HIV-negative women.
Source: Amnesty International (London)
PRESS RELEASE
Latifah, a 14-year-old girl from Indonesia, was accused of adultery by the local police when she went to report she had been raped.
Louisa, a young woman from Burkina Faso, was verbally abused and slapped during childbirth at a local hospital.
Source: Health-e (Cape Town)
HIV-positive women are living longer, but are now dying of cervical cancer. In Zimbabwe, cervical cancer is now the most common cancer among women, particularly those living with HIV. Activists are urging the government to step up efforts to prevent deaths related to the disease, accusing it of paying lip service to the problem.
Source: South African Government (Pretoria)
PRESS RELEASE
The Gauteng Department of Health is calling on pregnant mothers and their partners to make use of clinics to learn more about pregnancy and prevention of sexually transmitted illnesses.
Source: Africa Renewal
In recent years, the shrill cries of a newborn baby have been bringing more shouts of joy than of anguish in maternity wards across Africa. That is because maternal deaths are decreasing on the continent, says Gifty Addico, a South Africa-based adviser for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
Source: Heath-e
HIV-positive women are living longer, but are now dying of cervical cancer. In Zimbabwe, cervical cancer is now the most common cancer among women, particularly those living with HIV. Activists are urging the government to step up efforts to prevent deaths related to the disease, accusing it of paying lip service to the problem.