UNFPA has set ten clear steps that can help level the playing field to create a more equal world, as vast inequalities have trapped people in a cycle of poverty and marginalization.
These inequalities threaten economies, communities and nations, says The State of World Population 2017 UNFPA’s flagship report, released last week.
“These inequalities are not simply a matter of wealth. Social, racial and political inequalities are all mutually reinforcing, trapping people in a cycle of poverty and marginalization” says the report.
Gender amplifies these inequalities, as so many women and girls do not have access to sexual and reproductive health care which means they are unable to receive family planning services or antenatal care, and may be forced to give birth in unsafe conditions. Every year, in developing countries, some 7.3 million girls give birth before reaching age 18.
As a result of early motherhood these girls and women are prone to maternal injuries, disabilities or even death. They sometimes are unable to complete their education or paid workforce, leaving their families poorer and their children with bleaker futures.
These inequalities could undermine the global community’s goals on ending poverty, eliminating preventable deaths and achieving sustainability.
1.UNFPA, urges all countries to meet all commitments and obligations on human rights agreed in international treaties and conventions, by upholding the rights to work, education and health – including reproductive health.
2.Countries should break the barriers that prevent young women from accessing sexual and reproductive health information and services. Sexual and reproductive health care enables them to become educated, employed and empowered.
3.The poorest women should be reached with essential, life-saving antenatal and maternal health care. More than 800 women to die giving birth everyday these women are among the poorest and most vulnerable in the world and for every woman who dies of pregnancy-related complications, many more are injured or disabled.
4.Meet all unmet needs for family planning, prioritizing women in the poorest 40% of households. Access to safe, voluntary family planning is a human right. There are 89 million unintended pregnancies and 48 million abortions in developing countries, yearly.
5.Provide a universal social protection floor, offering basic income security and covering essential services, including maternity-related benefits and support.
6.Bolster services, such as childcare, to enable women to enter or remain in the paid labour force. Women face a long list of disadvantages in the workplace and more obstacles than men to higher-paying jobs.
7.Adopt progressive policies aimed at accelerated income growth among the poorest 40% through stepped-up human capital investments in girls and women. To end extreme poverty, the poorest 40% of people must see faster income growth.
8.Eliminate obstacles to girls’ access to secondary and higher education, and to their enrolment in courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
9.Accelerate the transition from informal jobs to formal, decent work – focusing first on sectors with large concentrations of poor, female workers – and unblock women’s access to credit and property ownership.
10.And finally, to work towards measuring all dimensions of inequality and how they influence each other, and strengthen links between data and public policy. Inequalities are poorly understood and often invisible.
ZJ/23/10/17
By Zainab Joaque
Wednesday October 25, 2017.
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