United Nations Population Fund says gender inequality, stalled development push high rates of unintended pregnancies
GENEVA
Nearly half of all pregnancies, totaling 121 million each year worldwide, are unintended, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said in its annual report Wednesday.
“The 2022 state of the world population report shows that today, in countries where data is available, nearly a quarter of all women are unable to say no to sex,” Monica Ferro, the UNFPA Geneva office director, said at a UN news conference.
The UNFPA said that an estimated 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and modern methods of contraception globally.
“Gender inequality and stalled development drive high rates of unintended pregnancies,” it added.
Ferro said nearly a quarter of women cannot make decisions about their health care and almost 10% are unable to make decisions about contraception.
“Is it any wonder then that of all pregnancies in the world, nearly half are unintended for the women and girls affected?
“The most life-altering reproductive choice – whether or not to become pregnant – is no choice at all,” said Ferro.
She said it is a human rights issue and a cause and effect of gender discrimination.
Development issue
“It is a development issue,” Ferro added.
“Where any country continues to experience unacceptably high rates of pregnancy, we see strong correlations between rates of unintended pregnancy and the likelihood to achieve the sustainable development goals.”
The UN official said no country is spared as unintended pregnancies occur “in alarming numbers” globally.
Nearly everyone knows someone who has experienced an unintended pregnancy, she said.
“A startling 121 million pregnancies per year take place in the bodies of women who didn’t choose pregnancy or motherhood or were not planning to have a child at that time with that partner in those circumstances,” Ferro said.
The UNFPA spokeswoman said the issue is an unseen crisis, but many people will say it is not an emergency.
“They will say this has always been the case.”
She, however, said unintended pregnancy is “a personal issue; one that robs women and girls of their most life-altering reproductive choice – whether or not to become pregnant.”
Ferro also said it is a health issue and unintended pregnancies cost billions of dollars to the health system.
Unintended births are likely to have adverse social, mental and physical health consequences and are linked to increased vulnerability to poverty.
Over 60% of unintended pregnancies end in abortion, said Ferro, and 45% of all abortions performed globally are unsafe.
Unsafe abortions hospitalize about 7 million women a year globally and cause 5% to 13% of all maternal deaths, one of the leading causes of it, said the UNFPA report.
In developing countries, unsafe abortions cost an estimated $553 million per year in treatment costs.
