The Importance of Educating Women in Developing Countries

 

The social and economic impact of unintended pregnancy reaches much farther than the United States. In fact, the importance of educating women in developing countries continues to grow. In some areas of the world, a girl is considered a woman at the age of 12 and often married by 14 and pregnant as early as 15. She is not in control of the decisions being made about her own body. Many of these women in poverty are forced to sell their bodies in order to support their families. This in turn puts her at risk of HIV, other STDs and more unplanned pregnancies. By educating women at a young age, they will understand that they own their bodies and with this knowledge, combined with health care, they can live the happy and healthy life of their choosing. Currently there are more than 50 million 12-year-old girls living in poverty who are in desperate need of this education.

The Facts About Contraception in Developing Countries

In developing countries, half (818 mullion) women of reproductive age want to prevent pregnancy, meaning they either would like to wait 2 years to become pregnant or would like to never become pregnant again. Of these women, about 17% are not using any method of contraceptive or family planning and 9% are using more traditional and less effective methods for pregnancy prevention. In total, 215 million women are desiring more modern and effective contraception.

• Women who are unable to avoid pregnancy in developing countries often end up falling deeper in to poverty as they now have more family members to care for and mouths to feed.

• Areas of high fertility in developing nations can cause an expensive burden for developing nations. The quality of life may suffer as there becomes less access to nutrition, schools, employment and even the essentials like food and water.

• In developing countries, there is a commonly shared preference for smaller family size.

• The risk of maternal mortality is still high and lack of birth control continues to perpetuate this problem.

• Offering women control over their own fertility opens up opportunities for education and economic advancement.

• The pressure on schools becomes less when the population is not growing at such a fast rate.

• The impact on the environment is less when the fewer children are being born.

• Donor countries benefit as the chance for potential trading increases.

• The stability and ability to cooperate in International issues increase in the developing country with fewer births.