By Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu
The State of World Population (SWOP) Report is an annual flagship publication by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) since 1978 to bring to the front burner, emerging issues in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) to explore the challenges and opportunities they present for international development.

It is an annual observance by the international body to project its stand on a particular subject matter, essentially designed to congregate issues on the world population into the mainstream and explore challenges and opportunities they present.

It is simply the state in which the world population is living, concerning the different parameters of life, alongside the need for free and wholesome living conditions for everyone.

The aim of the report is also to bring the issues into the mainstream of global attention in an effort not to leave anyone behind.

The Fund, as the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, helps people to obtain contraception and life-saving reproductive health services and information and empowers women and girls to make informed decisions about their bodies and lives.

This year, therefore, the annual SWOP Report, which has “Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy” as its theme, is to highlight the impact of unintended pregnancy on societies, countries, and overall global development.

The report describes unintended pregnancy as “a human rights crisis with profound consequences for societies, women and girls, and global health.’’

The report finds that nearly half of all pregnancies globally are unintended, with a startling 121 million recorded each year, stating that “this is an unseen crisis unfolding right before our eyes.’’

It states that Nigeria records about 2.5 million cases of unintended pregnancies annually, with 19 per cent of married women and 48 per cent of unmarried women seeking to postpone or delay childbearing.

“One in two pregnancies take place in the bodies of people who did not affirmatively choose pregnancy or motherhood; not open to the prospect of having a child at that time with that partner, in those circumstances.

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“For these women, the most life-altering reproductive choice of whether to become pregnant or not is no choice at all, so, it is a personal issue.’’

However, the report is not about abortion, nor is it about motherhood.

The main focus of the report is on how much the world values women and girls beyond their reproductive capacities.

It is on what happens before a pregnancy: the information not received, the contraceptives not used, the conversation not had between partners.

The report is also about hostility to, and misinformation about contraception use that undermines women’s ownership of their bodies, and the countless intergenerational costs borne by women, girls and families, communities, countries, and the world.

The report also identifies unintended pregnancy as a health issue, noting that over 60 per cent of such pregnancies end in abortion and many are unsafe, the leading cause of maternal death and the cause of millions of hospitalisations every year.

The report highlighted the menace as a human rights issue, being both a cause and an effect of gender discrimination and restrictions on the bodily autonomy of women and girls.

The 2022 SWOP Report went ahead to describe unintended pregnancy as a humanitarian issue, where women in conflict zones and those living in refugee camps and other humanitarian settings are at high risk of becoming victims.

It notes that “women are too often overlooked in crisis response, even though they are in these situations, they are vulnerable to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and often face barriers to reproductive health services.’’

Also highlighting the menace as a development issue, the report indicates that “while every country continues to experience unacceptably high rates of unintended pregnancy, we see strong correlations between rates of unintended pregnancy and lack of development.

“To achieve Sustainable Development Goals three and five, we must reduce unintended pregnancy because it increases women’s health risk.’’

The report finds that many unintended pregnancies happen despite a woman’s best efforts and that some become pregnant as a result of violence or coercion, whether caused by man-made conflicts or natural disasters.

But once it happens, an unintended pregnancy can unleash cascading consequences and costs that can last lifetimes for mothers, children, families, and communities.

“Many of these costs cannot be calculated. The opportunity costs of millions of women and girls who delay or discontinue their education and/or workforce participation are vast, with lifetime and intergenerational impacts on earnings and health.

“Also, unintended births are linked to negative social, mental, and physical health consequences and increased vulnerability to poverty.

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“The real damage to quality of life is countless, including higher risk of postpartum depression.’’

At the launch of the SWOP Report in Abuja on May 31 by UNFPA Nigeria, in collaboration with the National Population Commission (NPC) and Ministry of Health, the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, says unplanned pregnancy is capable of causing rejection and stigmatisation for women and girls.

Tallen says “the rejection and stigmatisation from the society can lead to depression.”

She adds that when the woman eventually delivers the baby, poor nutritional intake for the mother and child may be linked to a greater risk of developmental delays for children.

The minister, therefore, reiterates the need for concerted efforts to address the challenge, saying “victims of unwanted pregnancies do not need our pity but our support in rehabilitating and reintegrating them into the society.”

On his part, however, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra, the Executive Chairman of NPC, identified Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights (SRHRS) as key to addressing unintended pregnancy.

Kwarra expressed dissatisfaction over the inability of women and girls to make choices in their sexual lives.

He said “almost a quarter of all women across the globe are unable to say no to sex and equally unable to make decisions about their healthcare.

“Most often, women and girls find themselves in situations that inhibits them from exercising their fundamental rights and having opportunities to make decisions on issues that affect their reproductive lives.”

He also identified unintended pregnancy, particularly among teenagers, as a major health concern to every nation, saying “it is associated with high morbidity and mortality for both mother and child, including outcomes of malnutrition.”

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Deputy Country Representative of UNFPA, Ms Erika Goldson, said: “the real effect caused by unintended pregnancy on quality of life is complex.”

Goldson, who blamed the persistence of unintended pregnancy on gender inequality, said “the lack of education is also one of the causes.

“The real damage to quality of life is incalculable and complex. Globally, unintended pregnancies are higher in countries with high levels of gender inequality circumstances.”

In conclusion, therefore, the 2022 SWOP Report has brought up many issues regarding unintended pregnancy to the fore, looking at it from different perspectives.

It is described as a health issue, a human rights issue, a humanitarian, social, economic, and a development issue that must be tackled from all fronts to check maternal mortality, poverty, and global development, leaving no one behind.

(NAN Features)