Investing in sexual and reproductive health is a critical investment in long-term development and achieving a world in which every woman, girl and young person may reach their full potential.

Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), stated in a press statement issued on Thursday in commemoration of World Health Day, with this year’s theme calling on the world to take necessary actions to address health challenges today and in the future.

World Health Day is commemorated annually on 07 April and is aimed to call attention to a certain health concern that affects people all over the world.

It also commemorates the founding of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948.

According to Kanem, a woman dies giving birth every two minutes, and as another year passes, 287,000 more women will suffer the same awful destiny.

”The vast majority of these deaths are avoidable. They aren’t unavoidable. They occur as a result of health-care systems that frequently fail women and girls. Too many women die giving delivery because health services are inadequate, inaccessible, unaffordable, or provide poor quality care,” she said.

She stated that for decades, health-care systems around the world have made strides in expanding access to and enhancing the quality of sexual and reproductive health care.

”UNFPA has contributed to this endeavour. The contraceptives procured by UNFPA in 2021 alone contributed to a lengthy and steady fall in the global number of women dying in childbirth,” she said.

According to Kanem, contraceptives obtained by UNFPA in 2021 alone contributed to avert 39,000 maternal deaths, leading to a long and steady fall in the global number of women dying in delivery.

She stated that worldwide development has halted in the contemporary setup, and that in some regions, maternal mortality rates are even growing.

One reason could be that decisions were made to deprioritize and slash expenditures for vital, life-saving sexual and reproductive health services, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

”Gender discrimination frequently motivates such decisions, considering women and girls’ health and well-being as secondary to other aims,” she said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency