Current Affairs 2022: Highlights of the State of World Population Report

Unsafe abortions are the third leading cause of maternal mortality in India & almost eight women die from them every day.

The 2022 edition of the State of World Population annual report by the United Nations Population Fund emphasised on unintended pregnancies. The report has few vital findings on unwanted pregnancies including in India. The annual report is themed “Seeing the Unseen: the case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy. The report explained unintended pregnancy as a health issue, humanitarian issue, personal issue, human rights issue, and development issue. 

Key Findings of the Report

• Women’s reproductive & sexual health rights- Approximately 57% of women are capable to make decisions over their reproductive & sexual rights and health.
• Lack of Modern & Safe Methods of Contraception- Nearly 257 million women, who are willing to prevent pregnancy are not practising modern & safe methods of contraception in the world. Almost 40% of sexually active women are not using any preventive methods to dodge pregnancy in 47 countries.
• Rising unplanned pregnancies- From 2015 to 2019, there were around 121 million unplanned pregnancies that happened globally every year. The rate of unplanned pregnancy declined from 79 to 64 between 1990 and 2019 for every 1000 women aged between 15 and 49. 
• Abortions- Around the world, 29% of all pregnancies both intentional & unintentional, end up in abortion. This sums to approximately 73 million abortions every year from 2015 to 2019. Globally, 45% of all abortions are unsafe, these unsafe abortions hospitalise nearly 7 million women per year around the world causing maternal deaths from 5% to 13%, & it's among one of the top causes of maternal death. In developing countries, unsafe abortions charged an estimated cost of $553 million every year in the treatment itself.
• Rape-Related Pregnancies- Almost a quarter of all women couldn’t say no to sex. Prevention is 53% less among women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Reports explain that rape-related pregnancies are the same as or have more potential to happen than pregnancies from sex with consent.
• Humanitarian Emergencies- In humanitarian emergencies, for instance, the ongoing war in Ukraine, several women experience sexual violence or lose access to contraception. Various studies related to humanitarian emergencies show that 20% of refugee women & girls experience sexual violence. It is estimated that 4.8 million unintended pregnancies will occur in Afghanistan by 2025, which will be resulting in gender inequality & health system disruptions.
• In the initial 12 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, the approximate disruption in contraceptive supplies & services remained for an average of three and half months, which led to more than 1.4 million unwanted pregnancies.
• Teenage Pregnancy- Almost 13% of women in developing countries deliver babies before they turn 18, three-quarters of women get pregnant by the age of 14 & before turning 20.
• Status in India- Unprotected abortions are the 3rd leading cause of maternal mortality in India & almost eight women die from problems related to unsafe abortions every day. From 2007 to 2011, nearly 67% of abortions in India were classified as unsafe.

Factors contributing to unintended pregnancies include-

• Sexual violence & reproductive brutality
• Lack of reproductive health & sexual knowledge and care.
• Harmful stigma and norms around women controlling their own bodies and fertility
• Judgmental shaming or attitudes in health services
• Stalled economic development
• Gender inequality

Action Needed

Andrea Wojnar, India Representative & Bhutan Country Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says, "India has made major inroads in terms of reproductive & sexual rights and health. India’s population is stabilising, the no. of preventive maternal death has decreased and there’s an increment of safe modern methods for birth control." The 2022 State of World Population Report leads to the front of the silent crises of unintentional pregnancy. Despite reversible, modern, and safe contraceptives available, the most common method is female sterilisation with its acknowledgement at 28%. The sterilisation process can delay pregnancies, which is very crucial for preventing unintended pregnancies, among the young population. Further, the matter of concern is that 67% of abortions are considered unsafe, keeping young girls and women at unnecessary risk.

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About the Author

  Ankita Rawat is doing a graduation in BA(JMC) from JIMS Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha.