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MBABANE – Unplanned pregnancy in Eswatini is now part of a bigger world crisis as the Eswatini Demographic Health Survey has indicated that 51 per cent of women lack the power to make a decision pertaining to contraception and saying no to sexual intercourse.
The 2022 State of World Population report by the United Nations Development Fund einn countries where data is availaab(UrleeN,unFnePaaAbrll)eystohonosewaisyntnhfooauttortowsdeoaxym., laTsthwisewekasthrreovuegahletdhbeyafUoNreFsaPiAd report.
It was further stated that an additional quarter of women were unable to make decisions about their own healthcare and nearly 10 per cent were unable to make decisions about contraception.
“The situation is no different in Eswatini. The Eswatini Demographic Health Survey shows that 51 per cent of women lack the power to make decisions in all three areas, with 26 per cent unable to say no to sex, 11 per cent unable to decide on contraception and 28 per cent unable to decide on healthcare,” stated UNFPA Population Fund Head of Office Margaret Tembe.
She further said it was therefore no surprise that nearly half of the world’s pregnancies were unintended, as stated in the State of World Population report, which focused mainly on this, stating that it was evidently an emerging crisis. oTfaTmthhbeeoMrGeiipnnoiasr,ttd,eursraoiinfdgEtthhceeonlKaouimnncgihcadfofmechteadd Planning and Development Dr ablysothbeeepnroadbvleemrseolyf unintended pregnancy.
Unintended
“There are many complex reasons and situations which could result in a pregnancy to be unintended. The unintended pregnancy could also be unwanted. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a lot of the unintended pregnancies not only in Eswatini but all over the world, mainly this was the outcome of the measure used in trying to prevent the spread of the disease through the control of the movement of people, using lockdowns,” said the minister.
He said this situation prevented people, especially women and girls who required continuous use of sexual reproductive health services for their healthy upkeep from accessing the services.
“There are high rates of unintended pregnancies especially among scholars and this