Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH)

Overview

Sexual health is the experience of the ongoing process of physical, psychological and socio-cultural well being related to sexuality. Sexual health is evidenced in the free and responsible expressions of sexual capabilities that foster harmonious personal and social wellness, enriching individual and social life. It is not merely counseling and care related to reproduction and sexually transmitted diseases. Reproductive health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters related to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes.

Sexual and reproductive health, therefore, implies that people are able to have a responsible, satisfying and safe sex life, and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Sexual and reproductive health encompasses human rights that are recognized in national laws, international human rights documents and other consensus documents. These rights rest on the basic right of men and women to have access to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chances of having a healthy infant.

In the African Region, sexual and reproductive health faces major challenges that include: maternal mortality and morbidity, infant mortality, unsafe abortion, unwanted pregnancies, family planning, infertility, sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections including HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer and the other cancers of the reproductive tract, harmful practices and violence against women and children and sexual and reproductive health problems affecting young people.

Of the 529 000 maternal death that occur globally every year, 48% are in the African Region. In sub-Saharan Africa, it was estimated in 2005 that there were 900 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births. The lifetime risk of maternal death from pregnancy related complications is 1 in 26, compared with 1 in 100 in Asia, 1 in 160 in Latin America and Caribbean, and 1 in 4 000 in industrialized countries. Among the factors that contribute to maternal death are pregnancies that are too early, too close, too late and/or too many. Nevertheless, the contraceptive prevalence among married women in sub-Saharan Africa is low, estimated at 13%, in spite of the evidence of the pivotal role of family planning in improving maternal and newborn health. About 25% of unsafe abortions are among teenagers 15 to 19 years old, the highest in the world.

With regards to HIV/AIDS infection, the heterosexual transmission is the highest among adults in the African region. Among the youth, there are 4 infected women for every man infected with HIV.

Cervical cancer is known as a complication of sexually transmitted human papilloma virus infection. Estimated at 22%, it is the commonest cancer in women in the African Region and one of the leading causes of death among women. Fifty percent of the cases are diagnosed late, although 80% of the deaths from cervical cancer can be prevented if timely detected.

In line with the above, the Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) Programme supports the 46 countries of the Region to ensure that all individuals -women and men, young and old - have universal access to comprehensive care which includes the constellation of methods, techniques and services that contribute to the reproductive health well-being throughout the life cycle of men and women in Africa.