The Right to Choose

Manes Feston, flanked by her children, holds her four-month-old son Fedson. He was one of triplets but his siblings died because of a lack of welfare support. High fertility rates can be seen in much of Africa with four or more births per woman. Generally, these countries are poorer with limited access to quality healthcare and contraception. Credit: Travis Lupick/IPSBy Tharanga YakupitiyageUNITED NATIONS, Oct 21 2018 (IPS)Reproductive choice can transform the world and our goals towards a sustainable society, a new report says.Every year, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) examines the state of the world population. In this year’s report, the agency focuses on the power of reproductive choice and the role it can play to promote social and economic development.“Choice can change the world,” UNFPA’s executive director Natalia Kanem said in the report’s foreword.“It can rapidly improve the well-being of women and girls, transform families, and accelerate global development,” she added.While progress has been achieved, the international community still has a ways to go, UNFPA’s Washington D.C. director Sarah Craven told IPS.“There is no country in the world where reproductive rights and choices are enjoyed by all people at all times,” she said.The State of the World Population 2018 report examines global fertility trends and how they are influenced by choice or the lack thereof.High fertility rates can be seen in much of Africa with four or more birth...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Development & Aid Editors' Choice Featured Global Headlines Health IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Population Regional Categories TerraViva United Nations fertility Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) United Nations Population Fund Source Type: news