Reproductive health in Africa needs more funding - Africa Recovery, Vol.12#1 (August 1998), Briefs page

The population of sub-Saharan Africa has doubled in just 25 years, and is expected to double again in less than three decades from the current level of 620 million, according to a recent study by Population Action International (PAI), a Washington based non-governmental organization. The PAI report, Africa's Population Challenge: Accelerating Progress in Reproductive Health, presents a comprehensive overview of Africa's population and reproductive health situation.

While acknowledging progress in some countries such as Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe -- where use of family planning services currently exceeds 40 per cent of married women of child-bearing age -- the report brings into sharp focus challenges that remain more onerous in Africa than in any other region.

These include the fact that Africa is home to 10 per cent of the world's women, but accounts for 40 per cent of the world's pregnancy-related deaths. The PAI report says African farmers would have to increase production five-fold just to meet the region's basic food needs in the year 2050.

Addressing the challenge of Africa's poor reproductive health and rapid population growth requires significantly increased financing, the report says. It suggests that donors at least double their contribution by the year 2000 from the current level of roughly $500 mn annually, if African countries are to reach the goal of universal access to basic reproductive health services by the year 2015.