Sexual and Reproductive Health for All: twenty Years of The Global Strategy

Thirty years back, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo, Egypt, highlighted the right of all people to achieve the greatest standard of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). In 2004, WHO published a reproductive health strategy – validated by 191 Member States at the Fifty-seventh World Health Assembly – that enhanced the centrality of SRHR to societies and economies (Resolution WHA57.12). These structures are grounded in gender equality and recognize the changeless significance of sexual health in attaining health for all.

WHO researchers worked with Member States, civil society and communities throughout all areas to operationalize a Global Strategy to cover the five key pillars for enhancing SRHR:

– enhancing antenatal, perinatal, postpartum and newborn care

– supplying household planning services

– eliminating unsafe abortion

– combatting sexually sent infections (STIs).

– promoting sexual health.

Resolution WHA57.12 more notified SRHR policies and guiding documents in numerous areas and Member States. For example, Latin America’s 2013 Montevideo Consensus and Africa’s Maputo Plan of Action from 2016 ( upon the initial 2006 strategy) both consist of language and concepts enhancing and supporting SRHR.

” The global strategy is the foundational policy file that centres WHO’s required for sexual and reproductive health to date,” stated Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of the UN Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP) and WHO’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health. “The text remains important in adding to assisting research study concerns and dealing with countries to develop useful resources to make sure extensive SRHR throughout the life course.”

Significant progress has been made over the last 20 years within each of the 5 pillars, including these examples.

– The Global technique happened as the world was reeling from the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Today, the number of people getting HIV has actually fallen by 38% since 2010 alone, due in part to the Strategy’s focus on getting rid of STIs consisting of HIV.

– Since March 2022, 60% of WHO Member States have actually consisted of the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) in their regular immunization schedules, greatly advancing efforts to remove cervical cancer as a public health risk.

– Prioritizing household preparation services and birth control access resulted in WHO’s Family planning: a global handbook for providers referral guide, which has been shared over a million times. Accordingly, the proportion of females using contemporary contraceptive techniques increased from 467 million in 1990 to 874 million in 2022, while a broader variety of contraceptive alternatives is now readily available.

A 2020 study found that there has actually been a worldwide reduction in unintentional pregnancy. Furthermore, evidence-based medical abortion routines have actually improved worldwide access to abortion, and over 60 nations have actually liberalized abortion laws in the past 30 years in line with evidence on the value of such efforts to ensure the health of women and adolescent girls.

Professor Kate Gilmore, co-chair of the Gender and Human Rights Advisory Panel of HRP, credited the Strategy and WHO for assisting create important scientific proof on SRHR that has contributed to some of these shifts. “Some of the fantastic advances that we have actually seen – including the way civil society has actually used up the cause to argue for access to safe and legal abortion – are because of the Strategy and the methodical generation of evidence over these past twenty years,” she stated.

Despite early gains, however, recent years have seen indications of stagnancy. From 2000 to 2020, the maternal death rate dropped by 34% worldwide – however a 2023 report found that progress has mainly stalled given that. The worrisome pattern was shown during a current event showcasing international datasets on the advancement of SRHR because ICPD. High maternal mortality rates persist in a few nations and sexual health concerns, such as endometriosis, infertility and sexual erectile dysfunction, are typically overlooked or stabilized.

Dr Allotey and Dr Manjulaa Narasimhan, researcher at WHO and HRP, noted in a current commentary in the WHO Bulletin that the SRHR agenda stays incomplete and in some circumstances has regressed due to geopolitical tensions, economic declines, the international food crisis, climate change, humanitarian crises and COVID-19.

There are emerging chances to catalyse progress – for instance, by enhancing human rights-based approaches in SRHR and embedding principles like non-discrimination, including in crisis situations. Improving health systems with a main health-care method can improve equity and broaden access to thorough SRHR services. New technologies and alternative service delivery methods can enhance SRHR by expanding gain access to, option and autonomy.

Other future-looking focus areas within SRHR include research study on the transformative role of synthetic intelligence and innovative birth control approaches, additional work on reinforcing health systems, and the enduring prioritization of positive pregnancy and childbirth experiences.

At a broader level, Dr Allotey called for an ongoing emphasis on the fundamental importance of SRHR. “Sexual and reproductive health must never ever be relegated to the margins of healthcare, however acknowledged as critical for the general wellness of people and the neighborhoods in which they live,” she stated.