Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women

56 Chapter 4
At the end of
2004 about 40
million people
were estimated
to be living
with HIV/
AIDS—most are
in developing
countries and
about half of
those 15–49
years old are
women
One result of high levels of unmet need in some regions of the world is a
high incidence of unsafe abortions. Of the 20 million unsafe abortions that
WHO (1998b) estimates occur annually, worldwide, an estimated 70,000
result in death, accounting for 13 percent of the overall maternal mortality
rate. Evidence suggests that reducing the unmet need for contraception would
reduce the need to resort to abortion, thereby improving maternal health and
female longevity.
Sexually transmitted infections are another global reproductive health
problem. WHO (2003) estimates that 340 million new sexually transmitted
infections occur annually, and there is clear evidence that the presence of a
sexually transmitted infection increases the risk of HIV infection. HIV/AIDS
is itself a devastating global health problem. In 2004 an estimated 4.9 million
people were newly infected with HIV, higher than ever. At the end of 2004
about 40 million people were estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, most (95
percent) in developing countries and about half of those 15–49 years old are
women. In Sub-Saharan Africa women constitute 57 percent of all adults living
with HIV/AIDS. About three-quarters of young people (15–24 years old)
infected with HIV/AIDS on that continent are women and girls. Prevalence
rates for women are nearing those of men in the Caribbean and in North
Africa and the Middle East (table 4.1; UNAIDS/WHO 2004).
Yet, worldwide, fewer than one in five people at risk of HIV infection today
have access to prevention programs (UNAIDS 2003a). Fewer than four percent
of people in need of antiretroviral treatment in low- and middle-income
countries were receiving the drugs at the end of 2001. And less than 10 percent
of people with HIV/AIDS have access to palliative care or treatment for opportunistic
infections (UNAIDS/WHO 2004).
Nutrition and reproductive health. The nutritional status of women and adolescent
girls is often overlooked when examining issues related to reproductive
health. Malnutrition significantly increases the risk of poor reproductive
Table 4.1
HIV prevalence rate
among population
ages 15–49, 2004
Percent
Source: UNAIDS/WHO 2004.
Region Women Men
Sub-Saharan Africa 8.4 6.4
Caribbean 2.3 2.4
Eastern Europe and Central Asia 0.6 1.0
Latin America 0.4 0.8
South and South East Asia 0.4 0.9
Middle East and North Africa 0.3 0.3
North America 0.3 0.9
East Asia 0.1 0.2
Oceania 0.1 0.3
Western and Central Europe 0.1 0.4
Global 1.1 1.2