Central and Eastern Europe
Reproductive health
Population and
development strategies
Advocacy
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Africa
Arab States
Asia and the Pacific
Latin America and the Caribbean
Interregional Programmes
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Reproductive healthThe reproductive health situation in the region is
diverse. In most countries maternal mortality rates and the incidence of abortion are
declining, inter alia, due to increased use of modern contraceptives and growing
awareness of the benefits of family planning. However, in a number of countries, growing
opposition to reproductive rights is hampering people’s unrestricted access to
reproductive health information and services, and unsafe abortions remain a leading cause
of maternal mortality and morbidity. There has also been an alarming increase in the
prevalence of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, particularly among young people, in many countries
in the region. In Ukraine, for example, data indicate a more than threefold increase in
HIV infections from 1,499 in 1995 to 5,400 in 1996. Teenage fertility rates in the region
are also climbing and are approximately three times as high as the average in Western
Europe.
Consequently, increasing attention is being focused on adolescent reproductive health and
efforts are under way to involve NGOs as partners to complement government efforts in
improving the reproductive health situation of women, men and adolescents. A key event of
the year was a regional meeting on youth and reproductive health held in Copenhagen,
Denmark, in June. The meeting was attended by representatives of Governments, NGOs and
national youth organizations. Organized by UNFPA and the Government of Denmark, in
cooperation with the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the meeting provided opportunities to
share country experiences in dealing with reproductive health issues; promote greater
awareness and understanding of the reproductive needs of young people; and develop
strategies to address those needs. The recommendations of the meeting will guide UNFPA in
responding more effectively to young people’s reproductive health needs.
UNFPA is also supporting training in the provision of reproductive health services. For
example, the Fund is providing assistance to the reproductive health training centre in
Armenia which was established in 1997. In Romania and Ukraine, UNFPA is supporting
reproductive health training for medical professionals. A number of STD/AIDS-prevention
activities, supported by the Fund, have been undertaken in the region, including the
provision of condoms and other contraceptive commodities; training of service providers;
and the development and incorporation of HIV/AIDS education components in sex education
programmes. During 1997, the Fund provided emergency contraceptive supplies, including
condoms, to Armenia, Bulgaria and Georgia.
Several countries in the region continued to host large numbers of refugees and internally
displaced persons, including Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia and the Russian
Federation. The Fund has provided support to Marie Stopes International and its local
partner Stope Nade to provide reproductive health information and services in several
collective centres in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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