What you should know about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) More than 30 different bacteria, viruses and parasites are known to be transmitted through sexual contact. Eight of these pathogens are linked to the greatest incidence of sexually transmitted disease. Of these 8 infections, 4 are currently curable: syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis. The other...
Cultural and social factors for performing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) The reasons why female genital mutilations are performed vary from one region to another as well as over time, and include a mix of sociocultural factors within families and communities. The most commonly cited reasons are: • Where FGM is a social convention (social norm),...
The Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) has appealed to government to allocate more funds towards adolescent health issues in the country. The ARHR also asked government to develop health policies and programmes centred on adolescents for long term impact, especially at deprived areas. Ms Rhema Andah, a Project Officer of ARHR, in a statement...
Key facts about Adolescents • More than 1.1 million adolescents aged 10-19 years died in 2016, over 3000 every day, mostly from preventable or treatable causes. • Road traffic injuries were the leading cause of death among adolescents in 2016. Other major causes of adolescent deaths include suicide, interpersonal violence, HIV/AIDS and diarrhoeal diseases. •...
Why invest in adolescent health? A critical, overarching reason to invest in the health of adolescents is that adolescents, like all people, have fundamental rights to life, development, the highest achievable standards of health and access to health services. These are supported by global human rights instruments, to which almost all countries are signatories. Investment...
Key facts on children’s health • In 2019 an estimated 5.2 million children under 5 years died mostly from preventable and treatable causes. • Children aged 1 to 11 months accounted for 1.5 million of these deaths while children aged 1 to 4 years accounted for 1.3 million deaths. Newborns (under 28 days) accounted...
Early pregnancy and childbirth The leading cause of death for 15-19 year-old girls globally is complications from pregnancy and childbirth. Some 11% of all births worldwide are to girls aged 15–19 years. The vast majority of these births are in low- and middle-income countries. The UN Population Division puts the global adolescent birth rate in...
When freelance journalist Sophia Huang investigates a sexual abuse case, she starts by telling victims she meets that “it’s one thing to share your story; it’s another to go public and name the accused.” The reporter, whose investigations spurred by the #MeToo movement uncovered cases of sexual violence at some of China’s top universities — and who...
Emerging priorities for children’s health Congenital anomalies, injuries, and non-communicable diseases (chronic respiratory diseases, acquired heart diseases, childhood cancers, diabetes, and obesity) are the emerging priorities in the global child health agenda. Congenital anomalies affect an estimated 1 in 33 infants, resulting in 3.2 million children with disabilities related to birth defects every...
Making childbirth a positive experience The clinical management of labour and childbirth is well understood, but not enough attention is given to making women feel safe, comfortable and positive about their experience.In some settings, women are receiving too many interventions too late; in other settings women receive too many interventions that they may not need,...
