The 2022 State of World Population (SWOP) report produced by the UN Population Fund has revealed that approximately half of all pregnancies (121 million) each year around the world are unintended.
The report for this year was titled: “Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy.”
The reported warned that unintended pregnancies have great consequences for societies, global health, women and girls.
The report also found that approximately 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy do not have access to safe, modern methods of contraception. Using the available data, the report pointed out that approximately a quarter of the women aren’t able to say no to sex.
The UNFPA Executive Director, Natalia Kanem, stated that: “60 per cent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion and an estimated 45 per cent of all abortions are unsafe, causing 5 – 13 per cent of all maternal deaths, thereby having major impact on the world’s ability to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.”
“The war in Ukraine and other conflicts and crises around the world are expected to drive an increase in unintended pregnancies, as access to contraception is disrupted and sexual violence increases.
“This report is a wake-up call. 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. By putting the power to make this most fundamental decision squarely in the hands of women and girls, societies can ensure that motherhood is an aspiration and not an inevitability.”
The UNFPA has been producing the SWOP report since 1978. It highlights emerging issues in the area of sexual reproductive health and rights and brings them to the national and international agenda.
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