World population report offers new agenda for humanitarian response

The newly-issued State of the World Population Report 2015 shows that among 100 million people who need humanitarian assistance around the world, about 26 million are women and adolescent girls of reproductive age.

Providing reproductive healthcare guidance for women in Quang Lam commune, Quang Ninh province’s Dam Ha district. (Credit: VNA)

The report, entitled ‘Shelter from the storm – A transformative agenda for women and girls in a crisis-prone world’, was launched Friday morning in central Thua Thien-Hue province by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam, in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the General Office for Population and Family Planning.

According to the report, demand for healthcare for women and adolescent girls worldwide has not been considered priority in humanitarian assistance after disasters or conflict. The fact has shown that the lives of women and adolescent girls after every crisis often depends on whether they have access to basic services on reproductive health care and sexual health or not, such as maternity services and HIV prevention.

These services are very important to ensuring the health and lives of women, but are often very difficult to access at the time they are needed most. Three out of five maternal deaths occur in countries vulnerable to conflicts or disasters. In these countries, every day 507 women die from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth.

The protection of health and the rights of women and adolescent girls not only has an important role in helping them to overcome difficulties caused by wars and natural disasters, but also accelerates post-crisis recovery. The report stresses the need to create a peaceful place with better and more stable conditions, while promoting capacity building to help people adapt better, and to be able to overcome difficulties affecting their health, rights and future.

Data from the report also shows that in 2014 the UN needed record high funding of about US$19.5 billion for humanitarian assistance, but a record high deficit was logged atUS$7.5 billion. The lack of funding could endanger the lives and health of millions of people. In 2015, UNFPA received only less than half the funding needed to meet the essential needs in reproductive and sexual health for women and adolescent girls.

For this reason, there should be a new approach focusing on prevention, preparation and adaptability for countries, communities, relevant bodies, and individuals. The report concludes that only equitable development and equal human rights protection, including reproductive rights, can help people adapt to and recover from conflicts or natural disasters.

Speaking at the launch, UNFPA Country Representative Ritsu Nacken said that Vietnam is one of the countries in the Asia Pacific most vulnerable to natural disasters. As 70% of its population lives in coastal areas and in areas at a relatively low sea level, the country is one of the world's five nations most severely affected by climate change. Vietnam needs to be well prepared to respond effectively when a disaster occurs, while ensuring that the critical needs of women and adolescent girls are not overlooked, she suggested.

The UN official also urged the Government of Vietnam and the international community to exert more efforts in protecting the health and rights of women and girls, by focusing priorities on healthcare issues and their rights, as well as encouraging women, girls and all youth to fully participate in society.

Vietnam is undergoing significant changes in the demographic structure and socio-economic development, of which youngsters account for almost 40% of the population, an important human resource for the country’s growth and development. Nguyen Manh Dung, Secretary of the HCM Youth Union Central Committee said that the consequences of drought and flooding have caused severe impacts on national socio-economic development, as well as public health, particularly to children and women – the most vulnerable people in disasters.

To promote the role of youth in caring for girls and women in natural disasters, Dung pledged close co-ordination between the Youth Union and its members, and relevant ministries, agencies and organisations in providing reproductive healthcare for girls and women in disaster-prone areas.

He urged the union and its members to actively implement awareness raising campaigns and deliver knowledge about women's reproductive health to the community in many different forms, while co-ordinating with authorities to increase provisions of reproductive healthcare and family planning services for people in areas frequently affected by disasters, with particular attention to women and girls.

The announcement of the annual report on the world population is held by the UN in December every year.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)