Bangladeshis living through a revolution in reproductive health and rights: UNFPA

Bangladeshis are living through a “revolution” in reproductive health and rights, UNFPA representative Asa Torkelsson said, giving examples.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 11 July 2019, 07:37 PM
Updated : 11 July 2019, 08:31 PM

“And these revolutionary advances stemmed from the firm and solid commitment by the government and its partners, driven by passion to realise the needed changes,” she said, speaking at a World Population Day event in Dhaka on Thursday.

This year’s World Population Day marks the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994.

A new narrative emerged from that Cairo meet for the development discourse of an individual’s freedom to decide about his/her reproductive life – putting people at the heart of sustainable development.

This year, world leaders will come together again in Nairobi to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ICPD to renew their commitment to its agenda.

The theme for this year’s World Population Day is “25 years of the ICPD: accelerating the promise”, in keeping with the overall theme of the Nairobi Summit.

The UNFPA chief said in Bangladesh too, there has been “dramatic improvements” in people’s lives.

“With an average life expectancy of 73.8 years for women, this rise also denotes a “paradigm shift” in the lives of women and girls in Bangladesh.

“Much of this success can be attributed to the culmination of rights and choices for all, especially women and girls, in the wake of the ground-breaking 1994 ICPD.

“The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has decreased from 322 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 196 in 2016. Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased to 62 percent in 2014 from around 45 percent in 1994. Coverage of government health services has also increased significantly.

“Significant progress in both primary and secondary school enrolment and completion has been made since 1994. In 1990, the net enrolment ratio in primary education was 60 percent compared with 98 percent in 2017.

“Bangladesh has jumped a monumental 25 notches in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, placing the country on top of all south Asian countries and at 47th in the global scenario in 2017.

“According to the 2018 Report, Bangladesh has closed over 72 percent of its overall gender gap,” Torkelsson  said.

“Tracing back to the numbers, it is fair to say that we are living through a revolution in reproductive health and rights in Bangladesh.”

The UNFPA chief, however, said the revolution is still “incomplete”.

“The world is yet to fulfill the promises made to the ICPD agenda. There is still unfinished business in terms of a full realisation of the agenda. The struggle for rights and choices is still an ongoing one.”

For Bangladesh, she said of particular concern is the stagnating maternal mortality over the last decade, which is a key indicator reflective of rights of women and the functioning of the health systems.

According to the 2014 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), only 37 percent of all deliveries in Bangladesh are facility based, leaving 62 percent of deliveries based at home.

“The public health system in Bangladesh continues to have gaps in availability and quality of services, including gaps in health facility response to obstetric emergencies, and respectful evidence based routine sexual and reproductive health care.”

Bangladesh also needs to focus upon its adolescent and youth population to reap the benefits of its “demographic window of opportunity,” she said.

“Gender-unequal norms and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), therefore, remain among the most significant challenges for women and girls to freely make fundamental decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health and rights.”

As a measure of the task ahead, Torkelsson  said, UNFPA and its many partners have issued a “clarion call” for three zeros by 2030: there should be no unmet need for contraception, no preventable maternal deaths, and no violence or harmful practices against women and girls.

“UNFPA is fully committed to continuing its support to Bangladesh’s efforts to uphold the right of individuals and expand the horizon of choices for them, especially women.”