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After reading the November 9th Washington Post article titled, “WHO: AIDS Leading Cause of Death, Disease in Women,” I found myself both frustrated and motivated. Frustrated by the fact that the first study of women’s health around the globe by the World Health Organization found that HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death and disease among women ages 15 to 44. Hopeful and motivated by the fact that with increased international family planning assistance, these numbers have the potential to be greatly reduced. The article stated that unsafe sex is in fact the leading risk factor in developing countries for these women of childbearing age. This reveals the urgent need for international family planning assistance to empower women with the education and the resources to protect themselves from HIV.
International family planning programs have been greatly underfunded. However, with sufficient funding, there is potential for a significant increase in awareness, acceptability, and use of contraceptives among women. By expanding access to family planning information and resources, women will be enabled to avoid risks that jeopardize their sexual and reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as complications from pregnancy and childbirth. International family planning programs not only have the ability to save and increase the quality of life for women and girls but also play an important role in the development of healthy families.
The article also highlighted the unequal treatment of women and exposed the fact that women have higher rates of mortality when compared to men as a result of discrimination against women that is prevalent in many cultures around the world. This lack of prioritizing women and emphasis on protecting the health and well being of men has resulted in the dismissal of many issues solely affecting women. The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, indicated that the barriers that inhibit quality health care for women are not primarily technical or medical in nature but rather they are social and political. The report revealed that much-needed sexual and reproductive health services tend to exclusively reach married women and disregard the needs of unmarried women who are sexually active, particularly young people and marginalized groups such as commercial sex workers.
If we are to effectively address issues that affect women such as the leading cause of death for women ages 15 to 44 (HIV/AIDS), or the leading cause of death for women ages 15 to 19 (complications from pregnancy and childbirth), then we MUST value women and girls. We MUST prioritize their health and well being because women and girls play a critical role in maintaining the health of their families and communities and because they have an equal right to health care.
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I definitely agree!
# Posted By Mahayana
| 11/20/09 12:51 AM
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