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: IOL News
Although society’s attitude towards TB is slowly changing, one thing remains a challenge among in communities – the stigma.
Source: Alert Net
Bribes, poorly trained medical staff and the lack of medical care for pregnant HIV-positive mothers are among the reasons for high rates of infant and maternal mortality in Uganda. NGOs want to see more government action.
Source: Vanguard
As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to celebrate the 2011 World Breastfeeding Week, the Lagos State Government has concluded plans to establish creches in the various state ministries as part of
Source: NEXT
In this interview, Faousat Dabiri, the Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on HIV/AIDS and the chief executive officer of the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), discussed 25 years of HIV/AIDS in Lagos and the issues surrounding the disease in the state. Excerpts.
Source: Huffington Post
Four years ago, in a small sewing cooperative in Rwanda's capital city of Kigali, yoga instructor and author Deirdre Summerbell stepped in front of a class of a dozen frail women, each standing on a green or purple mat, and asked them to move their bodies in a series of twists and bends that make up the basic practice of Ashtanga yoga.
Source: All Africa
PREGNANCY is supposed to be a life fulfilling event which results in a healthy baby and a proud mother.
A few days ago, I took part in the World YWCA's fourth International Women's Summit in Zurich, Switzerland, where people from more than 100 countries gathered to discuss issues facing girls and women.
Source: AllAfrica
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is praising innovators from around the globe for their work to protect the health and lives of mothers and children at birth, particularly in rural areas of the developing world.
Source: CMAJ
Rwanda appears to be stemming the tide of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as health experts report that the HIV prevalence rate in this small East African nation has fallen below 3% from a staggering 13% in the 1990s.
Source: Ms. Magazine
Chances are, you'll hear or read soon that the world's population is about to hit 7 billion. Get ready for cool graphics demonstrating its remarkable escalation over the past century, as modern medicine and agricultural advances helped people live longer and societies flourish, while fertility rates remained higher than "replacement level" in much of the world.
Source: UN Women
UN Women is supporting a project in Rwanda to provide legal and medical services to widows who survived the 1994 genocide. The project specifically focuses on providing services to widows with HIV/AIDS,