Today, The Guttmacher Institute released its latest Adding It Up report, estimating the overall needs for sexual and reproductive health care worldwide and what it would cost to meet them.
As the video above explains, there are now 225 million women in developing countries who have an unmet need for modern contraception, up from 222 million in 2012. That means these women want to avoid pregnancy, but are not using an effective contraceptive method. Additionally, tens of millions of women do not receive basic care during pregnancy and childbirth to protect their own health and the health of their newborns.
Guttmacher estimates it would cost on average $25 per woman aged 15–49 to provide a package of essential sexual and reproductive health services to all women in the developing world each year. Just $25 per person. What would that money buy?
If all women received the sexual and reproductive health services they need:
- The number of unintended pregnancies would drop by 70 percent
- The number of women dying from pregnancy-related causes would drop by two-thirds
- Newborn deaths would drop by more than three-fourths
- Transmission of HIV from mothers to newborns would be nearly eliminated
That sounds like a bargain. Share this infographic to spread the world that investments in sexual and reproductive health really add up.
One Response to “Supporting Reproductive Health? It Just Adds Up.”
A. Oboe McClean
Unwanted pregnancy amongst unmarried young women and the lack of family planning coupled with lack of awareness is a dragon headed cause of poverty
amongst women in my community.