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: The Citizen
Rukia Shabiby's shy but cheerful disposition belies an existence seared with pain, embarrassment and isolation.Two-thirds of her 39 years have been spent in a state of despair. At age 13, living in Zanzibar, she was married and became pregnant.
Source: Vanguard
A retired Professor of Haematology & Blood Transfusion, Prof.(Mrs) Ibironke Akinsete was until a few months ago the Chairman of the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service. A trustee of AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria and a life patron of the Society for Women & AIDS in Africa, Nigeria
The Garissa Maternal Shelter in North Eastern Province, Kenya is the only such facility in an area with the country’s highest maternal mortality rate. At 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, it is almost double the country’s average.
Source: PlusNews
For the past five years, Achieng*, a 35-year-old widow and mother of six, has sold fish on the Kenyan shores of Lake Victoria; like many women in the fish trade, Achieng often has to have sex with fishermen in order to get the best catch of the day, a system known in the local Luo language as 'jaboya'.
Source: IPS
GARISSA, Kenya, Dec 19 (IPS) - The Garissa Maternal Shelter in North Eastern Province, Kenya is the only such facility in an area with the country’s highest maternal mortality rate. At 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, it is almost double the country’s average.
Source: New Vision
Uganda loses about $112m (sh275b) annually due to inadequate investment in maternal health and family planning, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has revealed.
The latest guidelines on infant-feeding options for HIV-positive mothers in Africa have not been disseminated in many countries, leaving women dangerously confused about the best nutritional path to protect their children from contracting the virus, a new report shows.
The fight against AIDS risks being set back years by a global financial crisis, the head of the United Nations campaign against the disease warned on Wednesday.
Source: Women E-News
Zambia has one of the world's worst cases of HIV, and women and girls suffer a higher rate of infection. Health activists say harmful cultural practices – such as the myth that having sex with a virgin can cure AIDS – must be targeted by prevention programmers.Zambia has one of the world's worst cases of HIV, and women and girls suffer a higher rate of infection. Health activists say harmful cultural practices – such as the myth that having sex with a virgin can cure AIDS – must be targeted by prevention programmers.
Source: TrustLaw
When women in Zimbabwe visit a beauty shop, many will leave with more than a new hairdo. Some 1,500 hairdressers around the country prominently display and sell female condoms.
Source: aids-free world
Remarks by Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World, delivered at a plenary session at the 2011 International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 6, 2011.