Health

Everyone wants to live a long and healthy life.

But if you live in a poor country your chances of living a full span are vastly lower than in the West.

Reproductive health

One hundred and thirty seven million couples have no access to family planning. Sixty four million rely on less effective traditional methods. The global population is predicted to grow to between eight and 10.5 billion by 2050. Ninety nine per cent of this growth will take place in developing countries, mostly in the poorest of these countries.

Sexual and reproductive ill-health makes up a third of the global burden of disease among women of reproductive age (15 – 49). It makes up a fifth of the disease burden in the world population overall.

Poor women in developing countries are over 200 times more likely to die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth than women in the UK.

Every year 80 million women have an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy and 46 million seek an abortion – almost half of which are unsafe, resulting in the death of around 70,000 women.

In 2004, donor supplies to Africa only provided 8.4 male condoms per man aged 15-49 and one female condom per 20 women (15-49). Worldwide more than 340 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections occur every year in people of reproductive age.

The UNFPA estimates that $1 million for family planning can avert 360,000 unwanted pregnancies, prevent 150,000 induced abortions and save the lives of 800 mothers and 11,000 infants.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are central to the achievement of many of the Millennium Development Goals, including:

Maternal mortality - services for safe pregnancy and childbirth and access to family planning.
Child mortality - improving women’s health is vital to the survival of newborns.
HIV and AIDs and other communicable diseases – sexual and reproductive services and rights are integral to HIV and AIDs prevention.
Gender equality - allowing women to protect their health and access educational, economic and political opportunities and control their futures.
Poverty reduction - poor sexual and reproductive health keeps people in poverty.

What DFID is doing

The UK has committed to achieving the goal of reproductive health for all by 2015, which we signed up to at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

In October 2007, the Millennium Development Goals were amended to include a target on 'Universal access to reproductive health' by 2015. This allows the UN to track progress and improve access to reproductive health where needed.

DFID is working to give people the choice to have fewer children by increasing access to sexual and reproductive health information, services and supplies. Since 2001, the UK has paid for over a billion condoms. Every hour 54,000 UK supplied condoms are used. The UK sees commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights as integral and central to action to prevent HIV.

Reducing deaths from abortion in Nepal

A large proportion of maternal deaths in Nepal are due to unsafe abortion. Following widespread social pressure, in March 2002 the government legalised abortion. DFID has supported this effort, contributing to the evidence of the effects of unsafe abortion, preparing policies in the build up to legalisation, and supporting implementation of the law.

Without this initiative, many of these women would have been driven to seek unsafe abortions, often with tragic consequences. Hospitals are reporting a reduction in the number of women presenting with complications due to infected abortion.

Links

Woman receives ante-natal care

Abrash Regasa receives ante-natal care at the Gemeto Kebele health post, Awassa, Ethiopia. Image credit: Jenny Matthews/Panos Pictures

To improve women’s health, we must improve their rights. The right to education. The right to freedom from the threat of violence. And the right to make informed choices about their health and their family’s health.

Douglas Alexander Secretary of State

Fighting Poverty Index