State of World Population 2012 - UNFPA Haiti

According to the most recent data, adolescentsand youth account for approximately 40per cent of unsafe abortions worldwide (Shahand Ahman, 2004). Adolescents may havehigher rates of death and disability than adultwomen due to delays in seeking abortion servicesand failure to seek care for complications.Abortion rates increase with limits to contraception,increased demand for smaller families ordelayed childbearing.Family planning aimed at young people canhelp prevent the leading causes of death amonggirls between the ages of 15 and 19: complicationsrelated to pregnancy, delivery and unsafeabortion (Patton et al., 2009). Almost all maternaldeaths occur in developing countries, withmore than half of these deaths occurring insub-Saharan Africa and almost one-third inSouth Asia (World Health Organization, 2012).A comparative study of hospitalizations across13 developing countries estimated that nearlyone-fourth of women (8.5 million) who have anTotal abortion rates and theprevalence of modern contraceptivemethods in 59 countriesTotal abortion rate432100 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80Source: Westoff, 2005.Percent of married women using modern methodsabortion each year experience complications thatrequire medical attention, with about 3 millionof them unable to receive the care they need(Singh, 2006).Young girls face greater risks than adults ofcomplications and death as a result of pregnancy.Compared to adult women, younger mothers aretwo-to-five times more likely to die during childbirth,and the risk of maternal death is highestamong girls who have children before their fifteenthbirthdays (World Health Organization,2006). Pregnant girls age 18 or younger areat up to four times greater risk of maternaldeath than women who are at least 20 years old(Greene and Merrick, n.d.).Often overlooked, maternal morbidities arealso a concern for young people. Young motherswho survive childbirth are at greater risk ofsuffering from pregnancy-related injuries andinfections, including obstetric fistula. In sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, the United Nationsestimates that more than 2 million youngwomen live with untreated obstetric fistula, acondition associated with disability and socialexclusion (World Health Organization, 2010).In most settings, high levels of maternal deathand disability reflect inequalities in access tohealth services and the social disadvantage andexclusion that young people face—both a causeand consequence of health risk that young peopleface as a consequence of pregnancy (Swannet al., 2003; Greene and Merrick, n.d.).Nearly 95 per cent of births among adolescentstake place in developing countries, andin these countries, about 90 per cent of birthsto adolescents 15-19 occur within marriage(World Health Organization, 2008). Child marriage—marriagethat takes place before the ageof 18—is increasingly recognized as a violationof a girl’s human rights, including the right tobe protected from traditional harmful practices34 CHAPTER 2: ANALYSING DATA AND TRENDS TO UNDERSTAND THE needs