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: allAfrica
Girls in Geita District are caught between a rock and a hard surface. Despite grappling with cultural norms and values that reduce them to mere sources of income upon marriage while on the other hand strive to dodge early pregnancies and marriage traps; they are disheartened by lack of sanitary facilities in schools.
No one should ever have to choose between starving to death and exposure to HIV, however, millions of women and children struggling to survive in the drought-stricken countries of southern Africa aren’t being given a choice.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Egypt is the most populous in the Arab world with 93 mln citizens and is set to grow to 128 mln by 2030.
Source: Life for African Mothers
According to the World Health Organisation, approximately 800 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, with 99% of all maternal deaths occurring in developing countries. These figures, while having improved drastically in recent years, suggest an urgent need for maternal care in these countries to address this shocking mortality rate.
Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa
Addis Ababa, 24th August, 2017: The 4th Acting On The Call (AOTC) conference started on the 24th August 2017 at the African Union, Addis Ababa Ethiopia with a theme “Overcoming Critical Barriers to Maternal and Child Survival”. The AOTC conference which is hosted by the governments of Ethiopia and India gathered more than 500 participants from 24 countries and held in the presence of the President of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, Ministers and high level policymakers from the public and private sectors, NGOs and UN agencies including UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO.
FGM is usually motivated by cultural or religious belief systems, and is more common in some regions of Africa.
Several organizations working in Africa have found the most effective way to stop the practice of female genital cutting is to avoid assigning blame and help communities tackle the practice from within.
Vaginal microbicides are meant to give women autonomy over how they protect themselves against HIV. But a recent study set in Zambia shows that social ideas of masculinity mean men get to dictate how and when women use microbicides.
Uganda has made progress on HIV/AIDS, but activists say discrimination is still rampant. Now, two women who say they were fired after forced testing revealed them to be HIV positive are fighting back.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
FGM is still taking place because it is a big source of income for the cutters. We want to see more ngaribas dropping their knives.