16 May 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on FGM & women's rights

Pregnancy problems are leading global killer of ​​females aged 15 to 19
By The Guardian, 16 May 2017

Pregnancy complications are the leading cause of death globally among females aged 15-19, with self-harm in second place, a global study has found. More than 1.2 million female and male adolescents die annually, the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) report said – the majority from preventable causes including mental health issues, poor nutrition, reproductive health problems and violence. The authors said that failing to tackle the health of 10- to 19-year-olds could undermine the improvements achieved in maternal and child health worldwide, pointing out that too often adolescent health was overlooked. “By investing in adolescent health, you actually get a triple benefit because you get a healthier adolescent now, that healthier adolescent becomes a healthier, more productive adult in the near future, and also for those who have children, they become a more healthy parent ,” said David Ross, lead author of the study. “If you have a healthy parent, that spills over into a healthy child.” The WHO surveyed the causes of death for 10- to 19-year-olds in 2015. It found that the leading cause, globally, was road injuries, which caused 115,300 such deaths.

Gender Equality Can Save Women’s Lives in Disasters - We must not miss the opportunity to set this right
By Global Issues, 11 May 2017

Later this month, the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) will take place in Mexico. This meeting provides an important opportunity to reboot global progress on embedding gender equality in disaster risk management and redress deadly exclusion. Even though the quality of disaggregated data needs to be improved, research shows that women and girls die in much greater numbers in extreme disaster events. The inclusion of women's perspectives and leadership is a necessary recognition both of the greater risks women experience and their unique roles in resilience building, disaster response and recovery. Precisely for this reason, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which UN Member States adopted two years ago to reduce global disaster losses, emphasizes that a gender perspective should be integrated into all policies and practices. Progress on this aspect will be key in the monitoring of the Framework's implementation. Case studies developed around major disaster events demonstrate how important it is to recognize how gender relates to risk, if that risk is to be minimized. In April of 1991, Bangladesh experienced a severe cyclone; it is estimated that 90% of the 140,000 people who lost their lives were women. In the 2003 heatwave that swept Europe, most of those who died were elderly women. Women also died in much greater numbers in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, often uninformed about the impending calamity, weighed down by heavy clothing, and many lacking an ability to swim or climb trees. However, to date the scale of women's vulnerability and capacity has not been sufficiently monitored and quantified. The 2005 World Conference on Disaster Reduction, took place only weeks after the Indian Ocean Tsunami revealed how gender equality is a matter of life and death in disaster risk management. The Conference flagged institutionalising a gender perspective as a key issue.