State of World Population Report 2022

In News

Recently, the UN Population Fund ‘s annual State of World Population Report 2022 was released.

About the Report

• The State of World Population report is UNFPA’s annual flagship publication.
• It has been published yearly since 1978.
• It shines a light on emerging issues in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights, bringing them into the mainstream and exploring the challenges and opportunities they present for international development.

Key Findings

• Unintended pregnancies: 
  • Nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide — 121 million annually — are unintended, which it calls “a neglected crisis.”
  • Over 60% of unintended pregnancies end in abortion and an estimated 45% of abortions are unsafe, causing 5% to 13% of maternal deaths.
  • The rate of unintended pregnancy did decline between 1990 and 2019, from 79 to 64 for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 49, and that offers some comfort. 
  • But the total number of women experiencing unintended pregnancies increased about 13% over the 30-year period because of population growth.
• Unsafe contraceptives:
  • An estimated 257 million women globally who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and modern methods of contraception, and in 47 countries about 40% of sexually active women were not using any contraceptive methods.
  • Most women who do not want to become pregnant say they do not use modern contraception because of:
    • fear and experience of side effects (26%)
    • infrequent sex or none at all (24%)
    • opposition to contraception (23%)
    • they are breastfeeding or postpartum and not menstruating (20%)
• No to sex:
  • Women of reproductive age in 64 countries showed that 23% were unable to say no to sex, 24% were unable to make decisions about their own health care, and 8% were unable to make decisions about contraception.
  • Together, this means that only 57% of women are able to make their own decisions over their sexual and reproductive rights
• Unsafe abortions:
  • A staggering 45 per cent of all abortions are unsafe.
  • Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal death globally and hospitalises millions of women every year.

Issues 

• Rights: 
  • The staggering number of unintended pregnancies represents a global failure to uphold women and girls’ basic human rights. 
  • For the women affected, the most life-altering reproductive choice whether or not to become pregnant is no choice at all
• Unsafe contraception:
  • Ways of contraceptives being used are either unsafe or not at all being used. 
  • It will eventually give rise to sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies even more.

Way Ahead

• Must reframe the conversation, calling on our policymakers, our communities and our partners to prioritise bodily autonomy. Rather than blaming and shaming women and girls for an unintended pregnancy, they should be battling to ensure women and girls are empowered to prevent these pregnancies in the first place.
• Must strengthen the health and education systems, which have a human rights obligation to provide accurate information about reproduction and contraception. Young people deserve to be educated and enabled to articulate their goals and choices, and instilled with the duty to respect those of their partner.
• Must ensure contraceptives are accessible, affordable and available in a range of forms acceptable to those using them.
• Must invest in research to better understand the causes and consequences of unintended pregnancy and to spearhead contraceptive technologies that allay women’s anxieties over side effects and broaden the options available for men.
• Must address justice systems that too often fail to hold perpetrators of sexual violence and coercion to account, leaving survivors to bear the stigma of both unwanted sex and the consequences of a potential pregnancy.
• When individuals are able to exercise real informed choice over their health, bodies and futures, they can contribute to more prosperous societies and a more sustainable, equitable and just world.

Source: IE