A new Lancet Commission calls join countries to deal with gender inequalities as part of essential health package
There is a need for countries around the world to include sexuality education, fertility services and counselling for gender-based violence as part of an essential health package.
A new Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights calls on governments around the world to tackle gender inequalities.
The Guttmacher-Lancet Commission was led by the Guttmacher Institute (New York, US) and is the result of two years of work from 16 leading experts in the field.
To date, health and development initiatives have typically focused on contraception, maternal and newborn health, and HIV/AIDS. Many countries have made remarkable progress in these areas, but gains have been inequitable and services have often fallen short in coverage and quality.
Each year in developing regions, more than 200 million women want to avoid pregnancy but are not using modern contraception. More than 45 million women receive inadequate antenatal care, or none at all
Each year in developing regions, more than 200 million women want to avoid pregnancy but are not using modern contraception. More than 45 million women receive inadequate antenatal care, or none at all, and more than 30 million women deliver their babies outside of a health facility. According to some estimates, unsafe abortions kill 10 women every day in India.
Worldwide, each year, 25 million unsafe abortions take place; between 49 and 180 million couples are affected by infertility; nearly two million people become infected with HIV; and approximately 266,000 women die from cervical cancer. About one in three women worldwide will experience gender-based violence at some point in their lives, most often from an intimate partner.
“For too long the world has accepted these stark realities as inevitable. Our report shows how they can be overcome, laying out a roadmap that countries can use to put essential services and interventions in place,” says Ann M. Starrs, Commission Co-Chair and President and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute. “We have the means and the knowledge to achieve universal sexual and reproductive health and rights. Meaningful progress is possible, it is affordable and it is vital.”
The Commission proposes a new essential package of interventions that goes beyond the standard aspects of care such as contraceptive services, maternal and newborn care, and prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, to address neglected areas that include infertility services, prevention, detection, and counselling for gender-based violence, treatment and prevention of cervical cancer, safe abortion care, treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted infections other than HIV, and comprehensive sexuality education.
