With the aim of building a world where every pregnancy is wanted, the Office of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in collaboration with the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), held, in Rabat, a meeting to present its report on the state of the world population in 2022 bearing the name, “Understanding the imperceptible: Acting to solve the forgotten crisis of unintended pregnancy”.
The report published by UNFPA reveals that more than 60% of unwanted pregnancies end in abortion, of which 45% of these operations are carried out through risky traditional methods responsible for 5 to 13% of maternal deaths, i.e. more 800 deaths per day. Therefore, the document intervenes to warn against these serious consequences resulting from a crisis of fundamental rights. “Every human being has the right to dispose of their body, and in the exercise of this right, nothing is more fundamental than the ability to decide whether or not to conceive a child, when and with whom to become a parent.reads the UNFPA work.
According to the study, the annual number of “unintended” or “untimely” pregnancies is estimated at 121 million, which means an average of 331,000 per day. The authors explain this situation as evidence of “the inability of the international community to guarantee respect for an eminently fundamental right, a situation which is expected to worsen further“.
However, data collected recently show that the rate of this type of pregnancy on an international scale has decreased between 1990 and 2019, on the other hand, the constant increase in the population could lead to an increase in this number if the necessary measures are not taken. not taken by countries.
Regarding these demographic indicators in Morocco, the study shows that the population reached 37.8 million inhabitants this year with an average annual rate of change in the estimated population of 1.1% over a period of five years, between 2020 and 2025. In addition, the data indicates that the demographic composition in 2022 shows that the percentage of the population aged 0 to 14 is 26%, the population aged 10 to 19 is 17%, the population between 10 and 24 years is 24%, a rate of 66% recorded among the population aged 15 to 64 and 8% for those aged 65 and over with an average life expectancy of 77 years.
In addition, the fertility rate in Morocco increased to 2.3 children per woman in 2022, however, the use of contraception, including medical and traditional methods, reached in the same year a rate of 43% among women. aged 15 to 49. The report indicates that married women often use contraceptive methods, a rate of 71% against 43% for the rest of women, while 37% of Moroccan women use modern methods of contraception. Arrested in 2017, data from the report reveals that the maternal mortality ratio (number of deaths per 100,000 live births) is 70 in the Kingdom.
“As 2030 looms, the deadline set for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and transformative goals pursued by UNFPA, we have little time to end the unmet planning needs. family, preventable maternal deaths, gender-based violence and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage. Now is the time to step up, not retreat, to transform the lives of women and girls and reach those furthest behind. Preventing unintended pregnancies is the first challenge — a non-negotiable step. When people are empowered to make real, informed decisions about their health, their bodies and their futures, they can help make societies more prosperous and the world more sustainable, just and equitable.says Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA.