Addressing the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa is vital, given the devastating impact of AIDS, the high rates of unintended pregnancy and the risk that those pregnancies may lead to unsafe abortions. Protecting the health of adolescents is clearly important for the adolescents themselves. In addition, it is a critical public health priority. Increased investment in adolescent sexual and reproductive health can contribute to wider development goals, because it enables adolescents to become healthy, productive adults. This report presents key findings from nationally representative surveys conducted in 2004 among 12–19-year-olds in four African countries—Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda—with the goal of guiding programs, policies and investments aimed at improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health

This presentation provides an overview of unintended pregnancy and abortion in the US; reviews the incidence of pregnancy and abortion; identifies who has abortions, why and when in pregnancy; reviews the safety of abortion; discusses provision of and access to abortion services; and provides a comparative international perspective on abortion.

This volume speaks to the global burden of unsafe abortion. The cost is largely borne by those who are most vulnerable and least able to access safe services: millions of poor women, young women, rural women and their families bear the lasting consequences of unsafe abortion. It is a cost that gets swept up in the debate about abortion; a debate that sometimes misses the day-to-day impact unsafe abortion has on women’s lives. This is a story of desperation. This is a story of women’s use of abortion under the most horrific circumstances. This is a story of the burdens on medical systems that can barely meet the most basic of needs, much less provide care for women suffering from entirely preventable injuries.

Issue brief summarizes causes, prevalence and consequences of illegal, unsafe abortion in Kenya.

Issue brief on current status and recommendations for improvement of family planning in the U.S.

Issue brief on prevalence, trends, legal and health issues related to abortion in Asia

Summary of trends in adolescent sexual and reproductive behavior in Great Britain.

Issue brief based on survey of adolescents in Uganda, covering their health, education, economic circumstances and family life.

Report documenting incidence, trends and legal status issues related to induced abortion in the United States.

Report on expert meeting reviewing the prevalence, causes and consequences of unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Fact sheet on impact of legal restrictions on abortion in Latin America.

Fact sheet on the prevalence and causes of the unmet need for contraception in developing countries.

Report presents a broad overview of early marriage and childbearing in India.

This report seeks to increase the understanding of the role abortion has played and continues to play in the larger context of the lives of American women.

Report on the factors associated with the very high levels of maternal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria

Issue brief on sexual and reproductive behavior and health of adolescent and young adult men in the United States.

Sexual activity among adolescents is a sensitive topic, and addressing youth’s sexual and reproductive health in the public arena is challenging However, the need for sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents—and the potential benefit of meeting that need—is great. Improving the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents is important not only from a public health perspective, but also from an economic one. Early marriage and childbearing, as well as the effects of HIV/AIDS among young people, can greatly undermine a country’s socioeconomic development. Increased investment can both improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health and contribute to wider development goals by giving adolescents a chance to become healthy adults.

 

This report presents findings from a new body of research on adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Ghana. The findings are primarily derived from data collected in a 2004 nationally representative survey of young people aged 12–19, and in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews conducted in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

Review of research on the impact of state laws requiring counseling and waiting periods for women seeking abortions.

Issue brief on the relationships between high-risk births and infant mortality.

Issue brief discusses the capacity and of reproductive health providers to integrate HIV-related activities and the benefits of integrating reproductive health services into HIV programs.