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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Global efforts to reach the “three zeros” for women and girls – zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths – are gaining momentum. Much of the progress we have seen is underpinned by the work of women living with HIV.
Learning that she was HIV+ and that her husband had hidden the truth of his condition from her was a double shock for Florence, who lives in Liberia’s capital Monrovia. But with support from WFP, she has turned her life around and is hopeful about her family’s future.
"Some of the most promising solutions to the spread of HIV reside in stripping away the layers of oppression from the lives of women and girls."
Source: Daily Trust
New HIV infections in children are down, but reaching the goal of an AIDS-free generation requires treating more pregnant women and children living with HIV, a statement issued by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to media houses on World AIDS day has stated.
Source: Tanzania Daily News
IF it were in Christianity, a doctor in Kigoma town jokingly said recently, Dr Godfrey Mbaruku would be revered as another Jesus Christ, for saving the region's pregnant women from being depleted by maternal mortality.
Source: UNESCO
Many people all over the world use the occasion of World AIDS Day (WAD), 1 December, to raise awareness about the disease and reflect on progress in the response. The theme for this WAD, and all others until 2015, is Getting to Zero: zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
In Uganda, only 38% of midwives are fully qualified, leaving the majority ill-equipped to deal with complicated births. But a pioneering project is using online study to fill the training gap.
Source: The Observer
Alex Kiwanuka says that emergency contraceptives, often referred to as morning-after pills, are the most commonly used contraceptive (as compared to non-emergency contraceptives). Kiwanuka works with the youth at Reproductive Health Uganda, and his observation could be representative of this demography. However, when he talks about the ways in which we abuse or misuse contraceptives, it isn't only the youth he talks about.
Source: IRIN News
The new government is responding positively to health workers and youth groups who have long called for a change in the 1861 law banning abortion except in exceptional circumstances.
In Bo, central Sierra Leone, maternal mortality rates have dropped 61 percent since 1990 thanks to cost-free 24/7 emergency obstetric care and an efficient ambulance service and referral system.