Reproductive health agendas hampered by global focus on HIV/AIDS programs, controversies over abortion, other issues

The global focus on HIV/AIDS initiatives and "ideological controversies" surrounding issues such as abortion have "marginalized" reproductive and sexual health in the global health agenda, according to a panel of public health experts said on Friday at a news conference on Friday, CQ HealthBeat reports.

The panel was convened to discuss a recent series published in the journal Lancet that said indicators of poor reproductive health in developing countries include the number of deaths from unsafe abortions, death or sickness from childbirth, or a lack of access to contraception, according to CQ HealthBeat.

The U.N. Population Fund estimates that about 529,000 women die annually during delivery and pregnancy, and 13% -- or 68,000 -- of those deaths result from unsafe abortions.

According to the panel, which was organized by the World Health Organization, reproductive and sexual health issues have become marginalized because they have become increasingly controversial.

Maurice Middleberg, vice president of public policy at the Global Health Council, said that most aid for health is allocated toward HIV/AIDS programs and that aid often is not given to the poorest countries.

Middleberg called on reproductive and sexual health advocates to partner with other groups aiming to improve primary care and systematic problems, such as lack of health workers, to address the "failure to provide adequate funds for basic health care in the poorest countries."

The panel said that family planning and that other initiatives need to be integrated with HIV/AIDS programs and more funding must be allocated to build primary care systems in developing countries, CQ HealthBeat reports (Blinkhorn, CQ HealthBeat, 11/17).


Kaiser Health NewsThis article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Study finds IFI27 and IFI6 as potential biomarkers for immune reconstitution in HIV patients