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Reproductive Health for Communities in Crisis
While international funding for reproductive health
needs in emergencies has increased since 1994, the
number of people requiring these services has grown
faster than related assistance. More than half the
countries in sub-Saharan Africa have been affected
by crisis over the past decade—whether directly, as
in Rwanda or Liberia, or indirectly, as in the United
Republic of Tanzania and Guinea, which have been
burdened by large numbers of refugees from neighbouring
countries.
Failure to provide for the reproductive health
needs of populations affected by crisis, especially
in the age of AIDS, can have tragic consequences
not only for individual women, men and children.
It can also undermine an entire nation’s stability
and prospects for post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction
and development.
A new global evaluation by the Inter-Agency
Working Group on Reproductive Health in Refugee
Settings warns that recent progress in this area is
now threatened by stagnant or declining donor
funding, compounded by the United States administration’s
political opposition to some aspects of
reproductive health. Increased advocacy and funding
are more critical than ever before, as geopolitical
instability and increasing vulnerability to natural
disasters threaten to increase the number of people
in need in coming years.
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