Guttmacher Institute: The Growing Challenge of Meeting the Reproductive Health Needs of Women in Humanitarian Situations
“…Women and girls are at particular risk when a region or country’s social, health, and other support systems collapse, exposing them to sexual violence, unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, STIs (including HIV), and maternal illness and death. And yet, sexual and reproductive health services in humanitarian settings continue to lag far behind the enormous need, argues a new analysis in the Guttmacher Policy Review. … [Sneha Barot, author of the new analysis,] notes that these long-standing and structural challenges are now compounded by rising nationalism in the United States and many European donor countries. This trend could result in fewer resources being allocated in the future for aid and relief efforts in general and for sexual and reproductive health services in particular. The analysis also examines the role of the U.S. government specifically…” (2/13).