Pfizer & Co., Inc.

Sexual and Reproductive Health for All: 20 Years of The Global Strategy

Thirty years back, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), kept in Cairo, Egypt, highlighted the right of all individuals to accomplish the greatest standard of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). In 2004, WHO published a reproductive health strategy – validated by 191 Member States at the Fifty-seventh World Health Assembly – that enhanced the midpoint of SRHR to societies and economies (Resolution WHA57.12). These frameworks are grounded in gender equality and recognize the unchanging importance of sexual health in accomplishing health for all.

WHO researchers worked with Member States, civil society and neighborhoods throughout all areas to operationalize a Global Strategy to cover the 5 crucial pillars for improving SRHR:

– improving antenatal, perinatal, postpartum and newborn care

– providing family preparation services

– eliminating hazardous abortion

– combatting sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

– promoting sexual health.

Resolution WHA57.12 further notified SRHR policies and directing documents in several regions and Member States. For example, Latin America’s 2013 Montevideo Consensus and Africa’s Maputo Strategy from 2016 (structure upon the original 2006 strategy) both include language and concepts enhancing and upholding SRHR.

” The global strategy is the fundamental policy document that centres WHO’s mandate for sexual and reproductive health to date,” stated Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of the UN Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP) and WHO’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health. “The text stays important in contributing to assisting research top priorities and dealing with countries to develop helpful resources to ensure extensive SRHR throughout the life course.”

Significant development has actually been made over the last 20 years within each of the 5 pillars, consisting of these examples.

– The Global method happened as the world was reeling from the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Today, the variety of people getting HIV has fallen by 38% because 2010 alone, due in part to the Strategy’s emphasis on getting rid of STIs consisting of HIV.

– As of March 2022, 60% of WHO Member States have included the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) in their regular immunization schedules, significantly advancing efforts to remove cervical cancer as a public health hazard.

– Prioritizing household planning services and birth control access led to WHO’s Family preparation: a global handbook for service providers referral guide, which has been distributed over a million times. Accordingly, the percentage of females using contemporary contraceptive approaches increased from 467 million in 1990 to 874 million in 2022, while a larger variety of contraceptive choices is now readily available.

A 2020 research study found that there has actually been an around the world reduction in unintended pregnancy. Furthermore, evidence-based medical abortion regimens have improved international access to abortion, and over 60 nations have liberalized abortion laws in the previous thirty years in line with evidence on the value of such to make sure the health of ladies and teen ladies.

Professor Kate Gilmore, co-chair of the Gender and Human Rights Advisory Panel of HRP, credited the Strategy and WHO for assisting produce essential scientific proof on SRHR that has actually added to a few of these shifts. “A few of the great advances that we have actually seen – consisting of the way civil society has actually taken up the cause to argue for access to safe and legal abortion – are due to the Strategy and the methodical generation of evidence over these previous twenty years,” she said.

Despite early gains, nevertheless, recent years have actually seen indications of stagnancy. From 2000 to 2020, the maternal death rate stopped by 34% around the world – however a 2023 report discovered that progress has actually mostly stalled considering that. The worrisome pattern was illustrated during a current event showcasing worldwide datasets on the advancement of SRHR since ICPD. High maternal death rates persist in a couple of nations and sexual health concerns, such as endometriosis, infertility and sexual erectile dysfunction, are frequently neglected or normalized.

Dr Allotey and Dr Manjulaa Narasimhan, researcher at WHO and HRP, noted in a recent commentary in the WHO Bulletin that the SRHR program remains unfinished and in some circumstances has actually regressed due to geopolitical tensions, financial declines, the international food crisis, environment modification, humanitarian crises and COVID-19.

There are emerging chances to catalyse development – for instance, by enhancing human rights-based approaches in SRHR and embedding principles like non-discrimination, consisting of in crisis circumstances. Improving health systems with a main health-care method can enhance equity and broaden access to extensive SRHR services. New innovations and alternative service shipment techniques can enhance SRHR by expanding gain access to, option and autonomy.

Other future-looking focus areas within SRHR include research study on the transformative function of artificial intelligence and innovative contraception approaches, additional deal with reinforcing health systems, and the enduring prioritization of positive pregnancy and childbirth experiences.

At a more comprehensive level, Dr Allotey called for an ongoing focus on the foundational importance of SRHR. “Sexual and reproductive health should never ever be relegated to the margins of health care, however recognized as critical for the overall wellness of people and the neighborhoods in which they live,” she stated.