AIDS kills people at the height of their reproductive and productive years. Dying young often leaves women enough time to bear children, but not enough to raise them. Where the epidemic is well advanced, it adversely affects the well-being of families and precarious economies. Where HIV infection rates are the highest in the world, condom use is lowest. With growing numbers of infections among women due to the increase in heterosexual transmission of HIV, the need for female-controlled methods has taken on greater urgency.
Every pregnancy entails risk, especially where health care is poor.
Each year, more than 500,000 women worldwide die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes, almost all of them in the developing world. Most maternal deaths could be prevented with inexpensive measures. Improving Reproductive Health Ultimately, good sexual and reproductive health benefits everyone and its consequences extend from the family to the entire planet.