OBGYNs and midwives are part of an essential ecosystem of health workers that provide crucial health care in delivering women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally. In lower-middle-income countries where health care facilities outside of capitals can be few and dispersed, midwives in particular are counted on to ensure that women, girls, and newborns receive appropriate care, support and counselling.

In Panama, the fundamental and basic rights of women and girls – such as education, work and political participation – continue to be violated. These violations extend to rights in sexual and reproductive health, which should allow women and girls to access services such as prenatal control, contraception and, in specific cases and as permitted by Panamanian law, safe and legal abortion services.

The 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) report presents findings on the sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health (SRMNAH) workforce in 194 countries. The report, produced by UNFPA, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Novametrics, shows the progress and trends since the 2011 edition, and identifies the barriers and challenges to future advancement. 

Today – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – marks the start of the UN Secretary-General’s 2020 UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign. This multi-year effort aims to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls and will focus on the issue of rape as a specific form of harm committed against women and girls in times of peace or war.

There are an estimated 15 million preterm births every year – more than 1 in 10 of all global births. Furthermore, 1 million children under the age of five die as a direct result of preterm birth complications. Although more than 80% of preterm births occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the problem is universal. 

“She’s a girl, which means that, despite her inherent human rights, her body, her life and her future are not her own. We live in a world where so many dimensions of power and choice are still determined by gender. Most women and girls face some, if not many, discriminatory barriers to equality. Among the many causes and consequences of gender discrimination, harmful practices rank as some of the most insidious.” UNFPA State of the World Population Report (SWOP) 2020

While the spread of COVID-19 is indiscriminate, mounting evidence has revealed that COVID-19 has further compounded existing inequalities putting already marginalised women and girls, often with weaker access to political and economic power, at greater risk, not only to the coronavirus but also to the direct and indirect consequences of lock-down.

Child marriage in Iraq represents a concern for me as professional doctor, impeding on community efforts to empower women and contributing to adverse women and newborn health outcomes.

Most married young girls are descendants of poor families and they are disempowered and deprived from their right to choose their right partner, to work and to get their economic independency, in addition to experiencing the proven complications of early child births that are especially an issue for girls younger than 16.

Despite the spending on sexual and reproductive healthcare being at an all-time high, with lower- and lower-middle income countries accounting for 80% of the increase in spending, Latin America accounts for only 4% of the spending.