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Committee:  United Nations Economic and Social Council
Topic A:  Fertility, Reproductive Health, and Gender Inequities


 Photograph by Stuart Price / Source: United Nations Photo

        Irene is a woman living in Uganda, Africa.  She has a job that pays $50 a month, but she cannot hold a job simply based on her work ethic.  She received no formal education and is unable to even apply for a job unless she knows someone at the business.  Even if she is able to find someone she knows who will give her a job, she may have to bribe them or give them part of her salary.  Despite her qualifications and skills, she may be forced to have sex with her boss in order to be employed or keep her job.  This treatment is unfair and a violation of her human rights.  Irene explains her harsh treatment, “My problem is, I was born woman” (“An African Woman’s Story from Kampala Uganda”).  Unfortunately, Irene is one of millions of women living in Africa and other developing countries who receive unequal treatment by males.  Because many women cannot obtain proper jobs, they may even be forced into prostitution to make money in order to survive.  With prostitution comes unsafe sex practices and unwanted pregnancies.  Unwanted pregnancies lead to unsafe abortions and fatalities.  Not only are the women who become prostitutes subject to these types of outcomes, but so are married women.  Many women are unable to obtain contraceptives, and are subject to HIV and other STI’s even when having sexual relations with their husbands.  But because many men feel they have more power over women, they are often unfaithful in their relationships.  This can also lead to a spread of sexually transmitted diseases.  If women are infected, they often realize too late because they do not receive regular medical care and are not educated about safe sex practices.  In order for women and men living in these countries to have better reproductive health and fertility, there must be more healthcare availability, and citizens need to be more educated on these topics.

        The well-being of everyone living in a country plays a key role in the ability of the country to flourish and thrive economically as well as socially.  Young adults are most susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases, and this is the same age group that is economically most productive; therefore, if these people continue to die due to disease there will be an even further decrease in output.  Also, the less disease in a country, the less money needs to be spent on treatments and medications.  Unfortunately, this can become a vicious cycle when poverty and a lack of money lead to unsafe sex practices and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.  Impoverished countries face many problems today that people around the world are continually trying to resolve.  This effort is ongoing and will take many years.

        One of the main problems which leads to a lack of reproductive health is unsafe sex practices.  There are many reasons that people living in developing countries fail to practice safe sex, and most of them are due to a lack of knowledge.  Since many women are not even able to attend school and even less go on to secondary school, there is no way for them to learn about contraceptive measures and sexually transmitted disease prevention.  Also, there is a lack of adequate teachers, classrooms, and materials which limits many developing countries’ educational systems. Because many people cannot receive a proper education, they are unable to find jobs.  Some still cannot obtain a job if they have a degree and a resume.  This could be due to gender discrimination or due to the tribe to which they belong.  One African woman says, “I had a friend who graduated from Makerere University with a degree in Ecology and wound up as a dishwasher in a local casino because he was from the wrong tribe” (“An African Woman’s Story from Kampala Uganda”).  Although unfair, these obstacles will not change.  Unfortunately, some women are still forced to result to prostitution.  Women who practice prostitution are more at risk for getting HIV and sexually transmitted diseases and more likely to spread these diseases to others.  Because they have a lack of education, they often do not use contraceptives and may have unwanted pregnancies.

        Although many people living in developing countries do not have the education about safe sex practices, they also have a lack of resources for contraceptives and other preventive measures.  There are multiple reasons why women do not use contraceptives even though the main reason is that they are unable to get them.  Women will not use contraceptives because they are afraid of the side effects or do not want to harm their baby while breastfeeding.  More importantly, some women do not use contraceptives due to how expensive they are, and this relates directly to the high poverty rate in developing nations and high unemployment.  Also, one’s religious beliefs can play a part in the use of contraceptives.  Some religions believe that there should not be sex before marriage and that contraceptives should not interfere with an act of God.  But even more apparent in these societies is the unequal treatment of women.  Because men feel that they are in control of women, some men will not allow their wives to use contraceptives.  Not only is this hurting the wives, but it is also hurting the husbands because HIV or other diseases can still be transferred between partners.  This is especially detrimental to the health of the wife because some men in these cultures feel that they do not need to be faithful to their wives and will have sexual relations with many other women during the course of their marriage.

        Also, wars and rebellions have a great impact on a country, and not many countries are living in times of peace.  Many developing countries face civil war and uprisings due to the unfair treatment of people by the government.  Countries often face civil war between the government and rebels who turn to violence, such as in Libya, in order to get the rights they feel that they deserve.  These uprisings can have a negative effect on the people living in the country though.  Not only are there deaths and violence, but many inhabitants decide to leave their country to avoid conflicts.  Refugees are not considered citizens and do not have some of the basic rights that citizens of a country have.  For example, refugees do not have access to schools and basic health services.  In some countries, citizens do not have to pay full price for their healthcare, but refugees do and risk going to jail if they go to healthcare clinics because they are living in the country illegally.  Therefore, these refugees may not seek out medical attention for treatment of different diseases, especially sexually transmitted diseases.  They are also unlikely to go to health centers to get contraceptives and will be unable to get sexual education.  

        Not only do people not tend to seek out healthcare, whether they are citizens of a country or refugees, there is already a lack of healthcare services in many developing countries.  These countries do not have the money to establish healthcare centers and train employees to work at them.  Often times, midwives will help to deliver babies, but they are not always helpful in preventing fatalities or delivering contraceptives and other education to women.  There are few trained medics to treat sexually transmitted diseases and distribute medication because most people are unable to get an education.  Even if people seek out healthcare, they may not be able to afford the treatments, and this could lead to death or other health problems.  This is especially concerning because most women will have children at their homes without the help of a midwife or other medical professional.  Approximately 80% of deliveries occur at home and only about 32% are with a skilled attendant (“Reproductive Health in Developing Countries”).  This may lead to death of the baby or the mother due to birth complications.  Also, there is always a concern that mothers will pass sexually transmitted diseases to their children.

        Many nations have been affected by these healthcare issues.  One place that has been greatly affected is Africa.  The AIDs epidemic continues to spread and cause deaths all throughout the continent.  About 22.5 million people are estimated to be living with HIV in Africa and in 2009 alone, 1.8 million people became infected with HIV.  Also, around 1.3 million African people died from AIDs in that year (“HIV and AIDs in Africa”).  Some progress has been made in this area with the development of retrovirals, but these drugs are expensive.  The demand for them is also very high, so they are hard to obtain.  More progress needs to be made, and the UN needs to find a way to help these unfortunate people living in these poor countries.

        Although, these circumstances may seem overwhelming and quite hopeless, the UN has formulated many ideas to begin to fix these issues gradually.  Nothing is going to be a short-term solution.  Improving education is a good place to start.  To improve education, the government will need help funding the building of schools and buying the proper materials for students. Also, the government needs to promote more schooling for girls, especially to go on to higher education.  This is just the beginning of the efforts that need to be made in developing countries.  Once people have received the proper schooling, they may want to start a family.  In order to be ready to take on such a big step, they should be able to attend family planning classes, so they are able to prepare for this addition to their lives.  Family planning visits are shown to reduce abortion complications, also (“Poverty, Gender Inequities, and Sexual/Reproductive Health…”).  Along with this counseling, they will need life skills training in order to become financially literate.  Also, there should be separate counseling sessions for men and women, so they can learn contraceptive and protective measures specific to their gender.  These educational opportunities will help to create a safer and healthier environment for everyone.  Hopefully, there will be less disease and a better understanding of the risks of sexual behavior.  

        More healthcare availability for everyone is needed, especially if they do not have the money to pay for it.  The UN should work with Member States to set up health clinics and community hospitals in places of the world where they are lacking but are most needed.  Also, these clinics and hospitals need to be staffed with trained medics and doctors so that these indigenous people can receive the best healthcare possible.  Along with these clinics and their affordability, people need to be able to obtain medications and contraceptives more easily and without paying a large sum of money.  Since many do not have high paying jobs or are not employed at all, it is unlikely that they will go to get medications if they cannot afford it.  Overall, better availability and affordability will lead to less disease and also prevent fewer deaths due to abortions and childbirth.

        One study that has been done in Tanzania involved a system called Conditional Cash Transfer.  This system gives cash payments to people who have negative test results for sexually transmitted diseases.  Therefore, by giving rapid feedback and positive reinforcement, more people will practice safe sex and use more contraceptives.  In effect, more people will be healthier and more economically stable.  The results of this study did show exactly that.  Approximately 9% of people, who were paid $20 a month, tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases as opposed to about 12% who were not paid (“Poverty, Gender Inequities, and Sexual/Reproductive Health: An Impact Evaluation of a Combined Economic and Psychosocial Intervention in Southern Tanzania”).  These are just some ideas that can be used to help solve these issues, and since poverty and reproductive health go hand in hand, monetary rewards are a great way to encourage safe sex practices. 

        Developing countries all over the world are in dire need of help with fertility and reproductive health.  In order for these issues to be solved, the UN and its Member States must form a coalition to educate and protect people living in these countries.  This is not an easy task due to the economic situations of many of these countries, but it is important to put a stop to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.  These diseases can have deadly results, and mothers and their children are at an even bigger risk.  Over time, the UN has the ability to stop this never ending cycle.

                                                            Questions

  1. In what ways are women’s health problems different from those of men in developing countries?
  1. In what ways do different cultures disadvantage the role of women?
  2. What are the patterns of population growth that are changed by increases in the rate of economic growth in different societies?
                                                                                 

Works Cited

 

“Africa Education Iniative.”
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/initiatives/aei.html

“An African Woman’s Story from Kampala Uganda.”
http://kabiza.com/i_was_born_woman.htm

United Nations General Assembly Resolution. A/RES/64/127 Women in Development. 23 March 2009.

“Introduction to the AIDs Epidemic.” http://www.avert.org/aids-hiv.htm

“Poverty, Gender Inequities, and Sexual/Reproductive Health: An Impact Evaluation of a
Combined Economic and Psychosocial Intervention in Southern Tanzania.”
http://poppov.org/Portals/1/documents/papers/12.Dow.pdf

“Reproductive Health in Developing Countries.”
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs4/IS-thesis-ocr2.pdf.

“The Impact of HIV and AIDs in Africa.” http://www.avert.org/aids-impact-africa.htm