The Two Main Problems Women’s Health Face in Developing Countries

Women’s health have specific implications for which can be classified into four categories (UN Org; Issues In Reproductive Health). First, health’s needs connected to the sexual and reproductive function. Second, women have a reproductive system that affected by dysfunction or any disease whether it has been put to function or not. Third, they are subjected to diseases of other systems that affect men. Fourth, as being a woman you are subjected to social diseases that affect your physical, mental or social health, for example, sexual abuse and gentle mutation also domestic violence.

The reproductive system plays a central role in women’s health, they need health care in order to carry out their sexual and reproductive functions. since the second half of the 20th-century health technologies and services have expanded to meet women reproductive health care, unfortunately, this didn’t apply in the developing countries in large scale.

Women reproductive health is affected by two main problems in the developing countries First, the health problems which encompasses adolescent health, fertility control, emergency contraception, abortions, reproductive tract infections (RTI) and other issues. Second, the social problems which encounter education, culture, politics, poverty and Gender inequity.

Women’s Health Problems in Developing Countries

Adolescent Health

Adolescents only form 20 to 25% of the population in developing countries, adolescence is the most important stage in women’s life that is when nutrition, physical activity, education (including sexual education) need to be provided to prepare them for social, reproductive and professional life ahead of them. Unprotected sex is widely practiced in developing countries during this period while there is no parental supervision or any professional and educational help, in return we see unsafe abortion practices and reproductive and genital diseases like HIV.

The developing countries need to do urgent interference for adolescent health, this can only be done by raising awareness and develop new programs for sex education which doesn’t increase the problem as people think or been deceived with on the contrary, it learns them the right time and way for their sexual practice and of course contribute in solving women’s reproductive health.

Fertility control

The uncontrolled fertility with high birth rates leads to overpopulation in the developing countries which raised the problem of women’s reproductive health, as they can’t have the care and health services they need because of poverty. The good thing is that many developing countries managed to lower the fertility rate from 5-6 into 1.8-2. Pills control and female sterilization are the most common means of birth control in Africa, while the male condom is the abandon mean in Asia.

In other developing countries women don’t use fertility control methods as they think they will harm their health or womb, it is because of ignorance and myths, uncontrolled fertility affects women’s health on a large scale due to the lake of services and cares presented to them as delivery and pregnancy months might cause dangerous on their lives.

Read more on how weight loss advertisements shaped women’s lifestyles around the world…

Abortions

Emergency contraception is a very important service should be included in women’s reproductive health program in developing countries to prevent unwanted pregnancy and eliminate unsafe abortions. 13% of maternal death around the world attributed to unsafe abortions as women go for suspicious and untrusted places to undergo these operations while in other countries suffer from this case due to poverty and lake of capabilities.

Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI)

Lake of sexual awareness in developing countries besides promiscuity, multiple sex partners, and permissiveness leads to many reproductive tract infections like HIV, HPV, Herpes simplex and Hepatitis B virus. HIV cases in developing countries have been found on large scales in Thailand and sub-Saharan African countries, that is why sex education and raising awareness is the main solution for solving this problem and upgrade women’s reproductive health.

Menopausal Problems

The probability of maternal survival after giving birth has been increased in the last decade and expected to reach 16% in 2050, that is why all the concerned stakeholders in these countries need to provide certain serves to add life into these years. Many women suffer from serious dental problems after reaching menopause age like genital cancer, genital prolapse, cerebrovascular disease and cardiovascular and in some cases hormone replacement therapy is the right cure.

Cancer in Women

As women have more chances to live longer in the developing countries they will have a higher risk of getting cancer especially the cervix, breast, ovary, and body of the uterus cancers in order of frequency. The increase in getting cervical cancer is due to early marriage which many women suffer from in developing countries especially in Africa, North, and East Asia. Multiple sex partners and viral infections especially HPV types 16 and 18 are also wide causes.

Breast cancer is very common in women who have their first baby after 30. Both types of cancers need a periodic screening and awareness of their dangers on women’s lives, that is why developing countries’ governments need to raise awareness of the high risk for women to get these diseases and provide the services and means to do screening periodically.

The Social Problems Women Suffer From in Developing Countries

Education

For centuries women didn’t have the right in education either their families prevented them from or the country itself forbidden it to women. Fortunately, things have been better now and we must thank women’s rights organizations for this and the other public figures who contributed to these countries and gave girls chances for education and have better lives.

The ignorance affected widely on women’s reproductive health, they didn’t know what is right for them and how to practice their sexual life properly, it also divests them from self-confidence so they couldn’t say no or stand for any sexual or social abuse they faced.

Culture

Many developing countries have certain myth and practices that are detrimental to women’s reproductive health, female genital mutilation (FGM) is among them which practiced widely in Africa and south-east Asian. It causes pain and difficulties during childbirth, not the mention of the psychological problems. Also in some countries, women are prevented from eating certain foods during pregnancy which affects their reproductive health causing poor nutritional status and anemia, the latter is known for being a risk factor for maternal morbidity and mortality.

Politics

The political disputes are the main reason for the suffering of these developing countries, leaders don’t mind for their people and they don’t provide any kind of human services for them and women’s reproductive health is no exception from that. Many developed countries and women organizations had set donations for this problem like the prime minister of Canda Justin Trudo and the United Nations Organization, but unfortunately, most women don’t have benefit from any of that.

Either all benefits come back on the governments or they are just temporary for a small number of women. Their help is not more than propaganda. The concerned stockholder needs to get the work on the rial ground, but this might never happen in the meanwhile as the world facing one of its worst political statuses that affecting all categories and fields.

Poverty

Poverty is the second main reason for all medical, social and political problems. People’s incomes are very low in these developing countries while a wide range is unemployed, they barely can fill their hunger. Women are either away from the work field or their job can’t meet their needs, that is why they can’t watch for their health. Most women in developing countries have a poor nutritional status which affects widely on their reproductive health.

Gender Inequity

Gender inequity is the biggest problem women have been facing since the dawn of history, but things in the developed countries are much better than the developing ones as women have more chances in education, better health and the awareness for women’s rights and respect have been raised. On the other hand, women in developing counties face genderity, disrespect, and racism which lead to forced prostitution, gang rape, bride burning, infanticide, and domestic violence.

All these practices affect women’s health on the four scales, these countries need to offer laws that protect women’s rights and the concerned organizations have to raise the awareness between men and women as both of them need to work together in the developing countries to have a better life.