U.N. report finds growing sexual and reproductive health inequities

Doug Cunningham
·2 min read
UPI
The United Nations reported that disparities in worldwide reproductive and sexual health equity are widening, even as remarkable advances have been achieved. File Photo by Achilleas Savallis/UPI

April 17 (UPI) -- A United Nations Population Fund report Wednesday said disparities in worldwide reproductive and sexual health equity are widening, even as remarkable advances have been achieved.

The report simultaneously documented declining maternal death rates, the doubling of contraception use among women and laws against domestic violence in 160 countries alongside how little impact these advances have had on impoverished people.

"These disparate realities are driven by inequality and discrimination, often hidden within our health systems and economic, social and political institutions," UNFPA said in a statement. "Achieving equity, then, requires exposing inequalities so that inclusive solutions can be imagined and implemented."

The report found that sexual and reproductive rights inequalities are everywhere.

It also found that sexual and reproductive health progress is stalling with women's ability to exercise decision-making over their own bodies diminishing.

The most privileged, the report said, are seeing barriers to health falling quickly while the disadvantaged confront barriers that are standing firm.

"Even in better-off countries, maternal death rates are higher among communities that continue to confront racial and other prejudices in everyday life," UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem said a statement. "We can and must do better."

The report said around 800 women die every day while giving birth, the majority of them in developing countries. Between 2016 and 2020 the report found "the global annual reduction in maternal death was effectively zero."

Among the report's findings was that sexual and reproductive rights are being politicized while opinions on them polarize.

Nearly one in 10 women have no choice whether to use contraception, according to the UNFPA report.

At the same time, the report found new research from 25 countries showed that barriers to health care "have fallen more quickly for women of higher socio-economic status as well as for those belonging to ethnic groups that were already better off."

The report said LGBTQIA+ people face harmful stereotypes "about women, girls and people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities" that are often used to justify gender inequality and homophobia.

Racism and misinformation along with gender inequality, the report said, are deeply embedded in many health systems around the world.

"UNFPA's report shows above all that we cannot divide and conquer on our way to ensuring universal health and rights," UNFPA said in a statement. "Rather, we must find political consensus, tailor solutions to communities and mobilize urgent funding to achieve our aims."