WUNRN
06
Nov 2007
UNFPA/CDC
survey indicates steep reproductive health challenges in Lofa County
UNITED
NATIONS, NEW YORK – A
new survey released by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that more than half of
all women in Lofa County, northern Liberia, reported at least one incident of
sexual violence during the most recent conflict (1999-2003), while nearly 90
per cent reported at least one incident of physical violence.
Pamela
Delargy, chief of UNFPA's Humanitarian Response Unit, notes that "the Lofa
survey has shocking findings on the extent of sexual violence, exploitation,
and abuse during the war, and is the first 'scientific' survey on the
experiences of women during the conflict".
Of the 907
women surveyed in 36 villages in Lofa County:
- More than
98 per cent lost shelter, 90.8 per cent lost their livelihoods, and 72.8 per
cent lost a family member due to the war;
- Almost
half of all recent births occurred at home without the assistance of a skilled
medical attendant;
- More than
75 per cent of recent births reported by women had some type of medical
complication during the pregnancy;
- Less than
15 per cent have comprehensive knowledge of the prevention and transmission of
HIV/AIDS;
- The
contraceptive prevalence rate has remained virtually unchanged since 1986 at
6.8 per cent; and
- Access to
clean water and sanitation is limited.
Many of the
women who were able to access reproductive health services during the conflict
did so as refugees in Guinea or Sierra Leone, underscoring the importance of
providing such services to refugees.
As the
epicentre of the most recent conflict, Lofa County suffered massive displacement
and near-total destruction of its infrastructure. At the same time, the survey
suggests there is a high probability that other counties may have
characteristics in common with Lofa County and face similar challenges.
On Monday,
15 October 2007, UNFPA, CDC and other partners launched the Lofa County
Reproductive Health Survey at the University of Liberia in Monrovia. The survey
was carried out in collaboration with the Government of Liberia, CDC, JSI
Research and Training Institute, and USAID, and was officially launched by
Liberian Vice President Joseph Boakai.
In the
keynote address, Vice President Boakai stressed that violence against women is
a national concern and called on all Liberians, including traditional leaders,
to join the government in its efforts to prevent gender-based violence.
"We must uphold the rights of women in our country…instead of abusing
them", he said.
After
fourteen years of civil war, Liberia is slowly making its way towards
development and recovery. Much of the population has been without access to
basic services, including health services, for decades, and there is very
little reliable data available on which the government and other service
providers can base their programmes or support. The goal of the Lofa County reproductive
health survey was to provide this data, not only to inform public health
actions, but also to highlight the continuing reproductive health needs of the
population when humanitarian aid has ceased and development has not yet
arrived.
The survey
also lists key recommendations to address the poor reproductive health
situation in Lofa County. These include scaling up the provision of
reproductive health supplies and equipment for health facilities and hospitals,
establishing a gender-based violence coordinator, promoting voluntary
counselling and testing services, and increasing HIV/AIDS education campaigns.
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