Monthly Archives: July 2016

UNFPA puts efforts in curbing girl pregnancies

blog, Reproductive Health

UNFPA puts efforts in curbing girl pregnancies

2016-07-13

THE United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) announced yesterday it will commit its investments this year to reach millions of marginalised adolescent girls at risk of early and child pregnancy as part of empowering the group to achieve their dreams.

Tanzania demographic health survey released this year shows teenage girls aged between 13 -19 years were still at greater risk of child pregnancy especially if they are not educated.

The figures indicate at least 42per cent of teenagers who had no primary education have had a live birth at the age below 19. Furthermore, 26.8 percent and 7.5 percent of teenagers who had primary and secondary education respectively had also a live birth during the period under review.

Mr Samwel Msoka, UNFPA Programme Manager said the figure means less teenagers participate in production activities–thus have little contribution on the national economy. “This is the challenge and we must tackle it,” he said.

He said the UN agency will put much concentration in the lake zone where cases of female genital mutilation (FGM)–a serious cause of early pregnancies and marriage were still high.

Minister for Health, Community Development, Elders and Children Ummy Mwalimu is expected to preside over the world population day next Monday, where UNFPA said this year’s celebration will be themed by “Investing in teenage girls.”

Speaking to reporters in the city, Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director for UNFPA said the celebration will underscore the relevance of investing in teenage girls in Tanzania.

In Tanzania, the focus is to empower teenage girls through education, protection and information about sexual and reproductive health and rights so that they can be prepared for future employment.

“The new development agenda calls on us to leave no one behind. To reach those furthest behind, leaders and communities must focus on and stand up for the human rights of the most marginalised teenage girls, particularly those who are poor, out of school, exploited, or subjected to harmful traditional practices, including child marriage.” “Marginalised girls are vulnerable to poor reproductive health and more likely to become mothers while still children themselves.

They have a right to understand and control their own bodies and shape their own lives,” she noted. Tanzania ranks 9th globally in terms of adolescent pregnancies.

Teenage girls around the world face more and greater challenges than their male counterparts. Channelling investments to teenage girls responds to their needs and rights. It also corresponds to the sustainable economic growth aims of the nation.

When a teenage girl has the power, the means and the information, she is more likely to make good decisions in life and realise her full potential, the UN official said. Adding: “she becomes a positive force in her home, community and nation.

Policies that lead to investment in education and health and those that create economic conditions that lead to decent jobs are particularly important in countries with large, emerging youth populations like Tanzania.”

Teenage girls, she said, are central to the future development agenda, adding that safeguarding their rights and investing in their future by providing quality education, decent employment, effective livelihood skills, and access to sexual and reproductive health services and comprehensive sexuality education is essential to their development, saying that it also improves the well-being of their families, communities and countries.

“There are more adolescents in Tanzania today than ever before, and their numbers are projected to grow rapidly over the next decade,” she concluded. Dr Natalia Kanem, Country Representative for the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) Tanzania admitted that too many of these girl’s pregnancies has little to do with choice. It is often rooted in ignorance, gender inequality, and forced marriage, lack of education, sexual violence and coercion.

Its consequences reverberate throughout the life of the girl and for generations to come, she said. “Rescuing girls is the right thing to do. It’s also the smart thing to do. Empowering girls through education, protection and information may well be the highest-return investment available in the developing world,” said the UNFPA country representative.

Why overweight men make better lovers: Experts reveal 9 secrets that may improve your luck with the opposite sex

blog, Sexual Health

Why overweight men make better lovers: Experts reveal 9 secrets that may improve your luck with the opposite sex

Viagra has transformed the treatment of sexual dysfunction and spawned new drugs to boost men’s flagging love lives. 

Now scientists have developed a Viagra skin patch that could trigger a faster response than the little blue pill and reduce side-effects such as indigestion.

But Viagra-like medicines aren’t the only way to perk up your sex life. Scientists have recently uncovered some highly effective — and surprising — ways to boost attraction and performance.

CHOOSE FRIENDS WHO ARE MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN YOU

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Most men worry their partner secretly fancies a more handsome friend. But recent research suggests competition from another male can increase a man’s production of testosterone.

And higher testosterone levels trigger arousal in women when they smell them in androstenol, a chemical called a pheromone secreted in men’s sweat.

In a study at the University of California in 2014, men viewed pictures of other men while next to their female partner as researchers took before and after blood samples to measure testosterone levels.

The results, published in the journal Hormonal Behaviour, showed testosterone increased when they perceived men as a potential sexual rival (because of their handsome features or athletic build), but changed little if they did not feel threatened.

This response was strongest when women were ovulating and most likely to be in the mood (men pick up clues to this through a subtle change in body odour and a slight increase in her voice pitch).

As Dr Arthur Cassidy, a psychologist who specialises in sex therapy, explains: ‘There is extensive research showing pheromones play a crucial role in attraction.’

WHAT IT MEANS WHEN SHE’S WEARING RED

In 2013, University of British Columbia researchers found women often wear red or pink when they are most fertile, similar to the way females in the animal kingdom display red or pink body parts to signal their fertility.

The researchers tracked 124 women through their menstrual cycles and found those at peak fertility — and, therefore, most likely to feel in the mood — are three times more likely to don a red top than those at low fertility.

Researchers at Glasgow University also found that women’s faces flush more during ovulation because high levels of the hormone oestradiol — which boosts fertility — also dilates blood vessels near the skin’s surface.

Ovulation starts roughly a week after the beginning of a woman’s period and this is when she is most likely to be receptive to sexual advances.

ANOTHER REASON TO HAVE AN APPLE A DAY

In case women need further motivation to get their five-a-day, one study suggests apples could work wonders for their libido.

A 2014 study at Santa Chiara Regional Hospital in Trento, Italy, found women eating apples daily had higher sex drives, increased arousal and more frequent orgasms than those rarely eating them.

The researchers said that chemicals called polyphenols — found in apples and most fruits — contribute to more oxygen-rich blood reaching the genitals during sex.

POTION THAT MAKES SEX LAST LONGER

One in four men in the UK has premature ejaculation, lasting an average of 1.8 minutes compared to the average of 7.3 minutes.

There is a prescription medicine, called Priligy, which can help by briefly raising levels of the feel-good brain chemical serotonin, delaying orgasm. But it costs £8 per tablet and is not available on the NHS.

A cheaper option is ‘delay’ creams which slightly numb the penis with a small dose of anaesthetic.

In a review published in the journal Sexual Health, researchers at Sheffield University looked at nine trials of delay creams and found they prolonged sex for longer than antidepressant drugs — like paroxetine — sometimes prescribed to postpone ejaculation by raising serotonin levels.

Delay cream can be bought over the counter (e.g., EMLA cream, from Superdrug, £20 for 5g tube).

SLASHING CALORIES FOR BETTER SEX

Restricting calorie intake slows ageing. But could it also boost your love life — even if you are already slim and healthy?

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that healthy people enjoyed better sex if they cut daily calorie intake by a quarter, or to 1,500 calories for a woman.

Scientists at Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Louisiana studied 218 adults, half of whom cut down on calories by 25 per cent while others stuck to a regular diet.

After two years, the calorie-restricted group had stronger sex drives while the rest reported no change.

However, there may be benefits to being on the cuddly side — a study in the International Journal Of Impotence Research found that overweight men are less likely to have premature ejaculation.

Researchers at Turkey’s Erciyes University found 14 per cent of normal weight men suffered premature ejaculation compared with six per cent of overweight or obese men.

The reasons are not clear and the study did contradict other research suggesting excess weight increases the risk of premature ejaculation; obesity also puts men in greater danger of erectile dysfunction.

One theory is that excess fat drives down the production of testosterone, low levels of which can delay ejaculation.

ELECTRICK SHOCK TO BOOST YOUR LOVE LIFE

It sounds unlikely, but zapping a tiny nerve in the ankle, using a technique called percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation, could improve a woman’s sex life.

It stimulates the tibial nerve with a mild electric current. This nerve is connected to muscles in the pelvis responsible for controlling a woman’s ability to orgasm.

The technique is used to treat overactive bladder in women.

But in a recent study at Careggi University Hospital in Florence, Italy, doctors tested it on 21 women with sexual dysfunction — defined as low desire, lack of arousal and inability to orgasm. After a single treatment, nine showed significant improvement, reported the Journal Of Sexual Medicine.

MEN NEED TO WORK THEIR PELVIC FLOOR

Pelvic floor exercises are best known for tackling urinary incontinence in women as a result of childbirth and ageing. But they could bolster men’s sex lives, too.

In 2015, researchers at the National Hospital of Denmark in Copenhagen studied 30 men with poor bladder control, as a result of a stroke, and taught half pelvic floor exercises to do daily.

After three months, the men’s scores on the International Index of Erectile Function — a one-to-five point system doctors use to measure impotence — went from five (the lowest) to three. Men who didn’t do the workouts stayed at five.

Physiotherapist Becky Aston, a specialist in women’s health, has seen increasing numbers of men seeking help. To do the exercises, men need to squeeze the muscles ‘as if they are trying to stop wind’.

‘Hold that for a few seconds at first but eventually you should aim for about 20 seconds. Do that ten times in a row, twice a day, for three to six months to strengthen the muscles and then every other day to keep them in shape.’

Meanwhile, women could benefit by working their own pelvic floor muscles through Pilates or yoga. A study in the Journal Of Sex And Marital Therapy found weekly classes improved libido and orgasms in healthy women aged 20 to 50.

Turkish researchers reported that after three months, women’s scores on a sexual function questionnaire (examining everything from desire to orgasm frequency) rose from an average 25.9 points to 32.2 — anything under 26.66 is ‘poor’.

Other studies have found yoga has similar benefits, probably because, as well as working the pelvic floor, both forms of exercise improve cardiovascular fitness, increasing blood flow to the genitals.

KEEN RUNNERS HAVE A HIGH SEX DRIVE

If a woman wants a man to satisfy her sexually and father her children, she should pick a long-distance runner.

Cambridge University researchers discovered that male runners are likely to have strong sex drives and high sperm counts.

But the research applies only to seasoned marathon runners. They studied 542 marathon runners, noting finishing times and the length of their fingers.

Previous studies show that men whose ring finger is longer than their index finger were exposed to more testosterone in the womb, increasing sperm count and sex drive.

The ten per cent with the most masculine digit ratios were 24 minutes faster than the 10 per cent with the least masculine ratios, suggesting increased fertility.

SUPPLEMENT THAT COULD BE WORTH A TRY

While there is little good evidence that dietary supplements improve sexual performance, one sexual medicine that experts think is worth trying is L-arginine, an amino acid the body needs to make proteins.

It’s taken as a capsule an hour or two before sex and works in a similar way to Viagra, says Dr Geoff Hackett, a consultant urologist and chairman of the British Society Of Sexual Medicine — increasing levels of nitric oxide, a chemical that dilates blood vessels.

‘It boosts chemicals needed to drive an erection,’ says Dr Hackett.

When researchers at Foch Hospital in Suresnes, France, tested the supplement on 26 men, sexual performance improved significantly — but changed little when taking an identical placebo.

The capsules are available from health foods shops at around £2.20 for 50.

Male Health Update: Soft Drinks May Give You Soft Penis

blog, Sexual Health

Male Health Update: Soft Drinks May Give You Soft Penis

Male health update! Men who love drinking soda or soft drinks may be at risk of having “soft penises” and lower sperm count. Researchers found that excessive soda consumption can cause erectile dysfunction and reduce sperm count by as much as thirty percent.
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This important male health update came from studies showing how drinking too much soda may promote poor sexual health in men. Researchers said there is a high chance some men suffering erectile dysfunction consumed too much soda in their past.

A new study suggests reasons why some men have soft penises potentially due to drinking too much soda. Researchers said erectile dysfunction occurs when high sugar intake causes fat to fill some blood vessels in the penis.

The condition would then block blood flow, making it harder to get an erection.

More Soda, Lower Sperm Count

Another study conducted by researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital shows soda addicts had lower sperm count than those with poor consumption of soda. Excessive soda drinking reduced the sperm count of some men into an average of 35 million per liter.

Researchers found non-soda addicts had an average of 56 million sperm per liter. The findings come from the analysis of the conditions of nearly 2,500 men.

However, researchers noted further studies are needed to see how soft drinks directly affect sperm numbers. They added caffeine has been found not causing any effect on men’s sexual function.

Read more: http://www.healthaim.com/male-health-update-soft-drinks-may-give-soft-penis/60739#ixzz4EGGUIihG

10 facts you need to know about your sexual health

blog, Sexual Health

10 facts you need to know about your sexual health

Dr Aisling Loy, consultant in genito-urinary medicine at the GUIDE Clinic in St James’s Hospital, tells us all we need to know about keeping downstairs in tip-top shape

STIs do not discriminate

In general, people are not great at looking after their sexual health. Many believe only “promiscuous people” get STIs. If you’re sexually active, you’re at risk, even if you do not have multiple partners. STIs can be transmitted even when condoms are used, though they are the most effective barrier to prevent transmission. Herpes, genital warts, hepatitis B, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea can be transmitted through unprotected oral sex. The only 100pc protection against STIs is total abstinence, which isn’t realistic for most. The next best thing is to wear a condom and get tested regularly.

Sexual Health

Most STIs have no symptoms

Many people believe that if they had an STI they would know about it. They expect to see or feel something different if they are infected. However, most STIs have no symptoms at all. The only way you will know if you are carrying one is to get tested. There are over 30 different types of bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause STIs. Many of the more common ones, such as chlamydia, are usually detected in patients who have no symptoms.

 

STIs are on the increase

STIs — including HIV — are increasing. More people are getting tested, but a lot of it is down to more people actually having STIs due to factors such as the availability of casual sex through apps, more disinhibition through alcohol and drugs and lower condom usage.

Syphilis is still around

Syphilis is a bacterium that can cause damage to the heart, brain, nerves, eyes and ears and can be passed from mother to child in utero. If left untreated, it can have very significant consequences. Most people diagnosed with syphilis have no symptoms and it is picked up in a blood test. Sometimes the only symptom, if any, is a fleeting rash on the body that then disappears. Syphilis is easily treated with penicillin injections.

Herpes is more common than you think

Herpes is extremely common but there is still a lot of misinformation about it. Very often people diagnosed with herpes suffer in silence and feel they can never have a normal relationship again. However, that is often not the case.

It is important to know if it is herpes type 1 or 2 that you have been diagnosed with, as there are different implications for your sexual partners depending on the type. Herpes type 1 is a cold sore virus and can also cause genital herpes. However, most people will pick up herpes type 1 at some stage in their lives so it is usually of less consequence to other partners.

 

Most people pick up the genital warts virus at some stage

There is an awful lot of misinformation about genital warts online. Most people don’t realise that most sexually active adults will pick up the genital wart virus at some stage and as the virus only stays in your system for approximately two years, it is often of no consequence to most. Although there is no known medicine to get rid of the virus (your immune system will do that), we have many treatment options to get rid of genital warts.

 

The ‘Morning after Pill’ for HIV

Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) is essentially the morning after pill for HIV. If you have had a significant HIV risk and are within 72 hours of that exposure, you can attend your local STI clinic or Emergency Department to avail of PEP. This involves taking HIV treatment tablets for 28 days to reduce your risk of acquiring HIV. The best prevention though is to always use condoms.

Free Hepatitis vaccination to prevent incurable illness 

Many people are at risk of hepatitis B through sex. This virus is 100 times more infectious than HIV, more common than HIV, and in 10pc of people, becomes a life-long infection that can lead to liver cancer or death.

How often should I be screened?

If you are sexually active, get screened at least once a year. For men who have sex with men, those who have multiple partners and those who have changed partners recently, it is a good idea to get screened twice yearly.

What does an STI screen entail?

At the GUIDE clinic we now offer express screenings. If you have no symptoms, haven’t been in contact with a known STI, and don’t need to talk to a healthcare provider, then you may be suitable. Some STIs can be diagnosed on the day and others take 1-2 weeks for results to come back. The clinic, and medication, is completely free of charge. However, donations, no matter how small, are gratefully received.

Dr Aisling Loy is a consultant in Genito-Urinary Medicine at the GUIDE Clinic, St James’s Hospital

‘Virtual doctors’ helping patients in Zambia

blog, Health

‘Virtual doctors’ helping patients in Zambia

2016-07-04

The idea of a “virtual doctor” project might sound rather futuristic.

But the inspiration for this scheme to improve health services in Zambia began in very low-tech and unhappy circumstances.

Huw Jones, working in Zambia as a safari guide, was driving a Land Rover along a road in a remote part of the country.

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He saw a trail of blood in the road, and his first reaction was that it might have come from an animal killed by a lion.

But he came across a couple on a bike – the man riding and the woman carried on the handlebars.

She was pregnant and bleeding heavily and they had been cycling for hours with the aim of reaching the nearest hospital, almost 60 miles away.

The woman was in a great deal of pain and her husband seemed to be in a state of shock, says Mr Jones.

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“In the heat and that terrain, they were desperate,” he says.

Mr Jones stopped to pick them up and drive them.

But the woman was already weak and died in the back of the Land Rover before they could reach anyone who could give them medical help.

“It affected me quite deeply. I wondered if I could do anything,” says Mr Jones.

It was an awful example of the lack of medical provision for rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa – and, he says, he has come across too many deaths that could have been avoided with better care.

Zambia has about 1,600 doctors for a population of 14 million, and two-thirds of these are working in towns and cities, while most of the country’s population is in the countryside.

It means access to good quality health care is often difficult if not impossible.

When Mr Jones returned to the UK, he began to develop a project to fill some of these gaps.

He set up the Virtual Doctors charity, based in Brighton, which uses the expertise of volunteer doctors in the UK to provide direct and individual support for health workers in Zambia.

For many communities, it is not practical to expect sick and frail people to walk or cycle for hours to hospital.

So families depend on rural health centres, which have health workers but no qualified doctors.

The virtual doctors project means that these isolated health centres can be supported by doctors thousands of miles away.

Health workers and clinical officers on the ground use an app on a smartphone or tablet computer to take notes on a patient’s symptoms and photographs.

This information is sent to a volunteer doctor in the UK who helps with a diagnosis and recommends treatment.

Cases are directed towards doctors with a relevant specialism, whether it is skin diseases or HIV and Aids-related problems.

The doctor in the UK will have a list of the drugs and equipment kept in the health centre in Zambia and can suggest treatment or further tests based on what is practical and available.

“For instance, there’s no point calling for an MRI scan,” says Mr Jones.

Virtual Doctors is now supporting 19 rural health centres, which typically deal with problems such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/Aids and pregnancy-related conditions.

There are also two district hospitals taking part in the project.

Mr Jones says that even where there are facilities such as X-ray machines, there can be a shortage of radiologists to look at the evidence.

The virtual doctors in the UK have been able to help with chest X-rays of patients in Zambia, he says.

These local health centres have catchment areas of tens of thousands of people, and hospitals provide services for hundreds of thousands. And Mr Jones says the virtual doctors are now supporting health services for almost a million people.

The charity wants to expand further, with discussions in progress about working with other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania and Uganda.

Mobile-phone networks are improving, and that could mean moving to more direct, real-time ways of communicating, such as video conferencing.

But Mr Jones says the emphasis must be on a system that is robust, simple, reliable and can be depended upon to work.

Former Education Secretary Charles Clarke, who is supporting the project, describes it as a “brilliant initiative that brings together voluntary expertise and desperate need”.

The Virtual Doctor system has been backed by the Zambian government.

Muyeba Chikonde, Zambia’s high commissioner in the UK, said he was very pleased at the assistance being provided.

He said it was in the spirit of “ubuntu” – a word used in southern Africa to suggest a philosophy of sharing and showing “humanity towards others”.

Why men might underestimate women’s sex drive

blog, Psycological Health

Why men might underestimate women’s sex drive

Most men may be missing the mark when it comes to gauging women’s interest in sex.

Psychologists have long known that when they first meet, men tend to overestimate how sexually interested a woman may be.
Once two adults are in an established relationship, however, men tend to underestimate their partner’s sexual interest, according to new research published last month in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
And there’s a reason for this drastic shift in perception, said Amy Muise, a post-doctoral relationship researcher at the University of Toronto and lead author of the research.
“Our findings suggest that under-perception might keep men motivated to entice their partner’s interest, and it may also minimize sexual rejection,” which would help maintain the quality of the relationship, Muise said.
“[The findings] are surprising in the sense that it’s the opposite bias that men tend to show in initial encounters, but we did expect that these biases would differ in established relationships,” she added. “It makes sense, since the goal in initial encounters might be to attract a partner, so over-perceiving their interest can help men feel more comfortable initiating a conversation or date. But the goal in relationships is to maintain the relationship.”
The research, which was conducted on mostly heterosexual couples, included three separate studies. In the first study, 44 couples completed surveys each night for three weeks. The surveys measured the participants’ sex drive as well as their daily feelings about their relationship.
In the second study, members of 84 couples were interviewed separately in a lab about their sex drive, how satisfied they were in their relationship and what they thought of their partner’s sex drive.
The third study involved 101 couples who completed a five- to 10-minute survey each day for three weeks in which they answered questions about their own sex drive and why they either felt motivated to pursue sex with their partner or not.
It turned out that men’s under-perception of their partner’s interest in sex was associated with their partner feeling more satisfied and committed to the relationship. Additionally, the researchers saw no consistent over- or under-perception bias in women.
“But, when women were higher in desire or on days when they were more motivated to avoid rejection, they demonstrated an under-perception bias as well,” Muise said. “This suggested to me that it is not just about gender but about who is higher in desire. Men tend to be higher in desire than women, on average, in relationships.”
The samples of same-sex couples in the study were too small to make a difference in the results, the researchers noted. “We conducted the analyses with and without the same-sex couples and the pattern of results remained the same,” they wrote in the study.
Andrea Meltzer, an assistant professor of psychology at Florida State University who was not involved in the research, said the findings were surprising and interesting.
“People’s behaviors are a function of their judgments and perception. That is, they tend to react to their partners based on their perception of their relationships,” she said. “For example, if they perceive their partners as satisfied, they tend to behave more positively. Thus, to have the most complete understanding of relationships, it is important to understand the source and function of intimate perceptions.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/01/health/men-women-sex-drive/index.html

Sexual and Reproductive Health in Young Women with CF: Is It Being Discussed?

Behaviour, blog

Sexual and Reproductive Health in Young Women with CF: Is It Being Discussed?

2016-07-01

Dr Lewis First, MD, MS, Editor-in-Chief, Pediatrics

Care of cystic fibrosis has come a long way over the past several decades with patients with this genetic disorder now living way into adulthood—prompting the need for seamless transitions of care from pediatrician to adult clinician and from pediatric multidisciplinary CF program to an adult one. In the midst of these transitions, there is a role for discussion of sexual and reproductive health counseling with teenagers and young adults—and yet while this is an essential conversation to have with these patients, just how often does it occur and if it does, is it done in a way that is comfortable for the patient?

Kazmerski et al. (peds.2015-4452) decided to look into questions like these by performing qualitative interviews with CF patients ages 18 to 30 and their corresponding CF program directors.  Key themes from these discussions emerged including the importance of having such conversations but also the relative discomfort of both patient and CF specialist to talk about sexual health as well as be familiar with resources to improve sexual and reproductive health care in these patients.  It was also noted that earlier discussions were preferred by patients especially if they were initiated by the CF provider.

Yet while one might want to assign this important conversation to CF providers, there is also the CF patient’s general pediatrician who can and should be bringing up issues of sexual and reproductive health during health maintenance visits.  The authors of this study did not focus on the role of the primary care pediatrician to work in collaboration with the CF specialist, but that is why we chose to publish this article—so that all pediatricians can be made aware of the need to sexually counsel a teen or young adult patient with CF just as we would patients at the same age without CF.

This article calls for better sexual and reproductive health education and services for CF patients as well as other chronic disease patients, and there is no reason that education and services cannot be offered by the primary care medical home in conjunction with the CF program in your area.  Are you doing that?  If so, let us know by sharing your practice tips with our readers by responding to this blog, leaving a comment on our online website where the article is posted, or by sharing a post on our Facebook or Twitter links.

Opportunities to help safeguard sexual and reproductive health and rights in emergencies

blog, Health

Opportunities to help safeguard sexual and reproductive health and rights in emergencies

Women and girls face diverse sexual and reproductive health challenges in emergency situations

2 May 2016 – There are now over 125 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, a fivefold increase from only a decade ago. Of some 100 million people who were targeted in 2015 with humanitarian aid, an estimated 26 million are women and girls of reproductive age. A new commentary highlights the urgent need to answer to the specific sexual and reproductive health needs of girls and women living in emergency situations.

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Published in the May 2016 issue of the WHO Bulletin, which focuses on the implementation of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ health, the commentary also underlines the opportunities for political commitment at the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit. The article was written by experts from WHO and the United Nations Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Population Fund, the Women’s Refugee Commission, and the humanitarian settings workstream of the new Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2020).

The authors state, ‘Women and girls are affected disproportionately in both sudden and slow-onset emergencies and face multiple sexual and reproductive health challenges in emergency contexts.’

More than half of maternal deaths occur in fragile and humanitarian settings. A woman’s lifetime risk of maternal death – the probability that a woman dying from a maternal cause – is 1 in 4900 in developed countries, versus 1 in 54 in countries designated as fragile states; showing the consequences of breakdowns in health systems.

Crises often exacerbate existing violence against women and girls, and present additional forms of violence against girls and women.

The challenges faced by girls and women in relation to sexual and reproductive health and well-being are diverse. The authors note how emergencies often reveal pre-existing weaknesses and a lack of resilience in health systems, as well as an absence of quality data on women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health – which in turn impedes the effective design and implementation of sustainable health interventions.

The authors of the commentary state that, ‘To achieve the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – to leave no one behind – it is imperative to protect and improve women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being and emergencies.’

The authors highlight how emphasis on addressing humanitarian settings in the new Global Strategy can help countries and fragile states deliver for populations living in emergency and protracted crisis settings, through a series of defined actions. They also raise awareness of the global imperative to raise sufficient and continued funds to support implementation of the new Global Strategy.

In May 2016, humanitarian leaders, advocates, civil society and activists will come together at the first World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul, Turkey. The commentary’s authors stress how this event will present a crucial opportunity for participants to commit to the United Nations’ Secretary-General’s proposed agenda for humanity within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:

‘By endorsing the Secretary-General’s call to action, summit participants can commit to the actions proposed by the global strategy for women, children and adolescents living in emergency settings.’

Restrictive laws do not necessarily lower abortion rates

blog, Reproductive Health

Restrictive laws do not necessarily lower abortion rates

TRACKING abortion rates is a hard task. Some countries under-report them, and many do not report them at all. A new paper published in the Lancet, led by Gilda Sedgh of the Guttmacher Institute, and the World Health Organisation, is only the fourth such study, and supersedes previous estimates that are considered too conservative. The authors (who also produced the last study four years ago) estimate that the global rate fell slightly from 40 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 1990, to 35 in 2014. But this masks a wide variation by income and by region. In the developed world, rates declined dramatically from 46 to 27 as better family planning and education became available to women to prevent unintended pregnancies. The steepest drop was seen in eastern Europe following the break-up of the Soviet Union, as women gained access to family planning and modern contraception. By contrast, the abortion rate has stayed relatively unchanged in developing regions and the share of pregnancies ending in abortion has nudged up from 21% to 24%. This matters: 50m of the 56m abortions every year are in developing countries. In Latin America, which has restrictive abortion laws and the highest abortion rates, one in three pregnancies ended in abortion in 2014, higher than any other region. Restrictive laws do not appear to lower the number of procedures, but do increase the likelihood of health risks to women who must seek unsafe procedures. Around $300m a year is spent treating an estimated 7m women who suffer complications after unsafe abortions.