Sexual and reproductive health, rights and population

Sexual and reproductive health is a cornerstone of development. The 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development articulated a broad new approach to reproductive health and population policy that went beyond family planning and reflected an awareness of the social constraints to health.

Sexual and reproductive health programs are highly cost-effective and offer a broad range of benefits for development, including preventing sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, preventing unwanted pregnancy, reducing maternal and child death, and reducing reliance on abortion. Global reluctance to invest fully in this area reflects discriminatory attitudes toward women, who bear the greatest burden of poor sexual and reproductive health.

Recent collaborations, products and resources

• What do we know about the impact of adolescent sexual activity, pregnancy and childbearing for girls’ life prospects? This research review by Margaret E. Greene and Thomas W. Merrick for the World Bank builds upon an earlier review for which the same authors received MacArthur Foundation support to review the connections between poor reproductive health and poverty.
  • Publication: Poverty Reduction: Does Reproductive Health Matter?
  • Research Summary published by the Woodrow Wilson Center: Poor Health, Poor Women: How Reproductive Health Affects Poverty
• Lundgren, Rebecka I., James N. Gribble, Margaret E. Greene, Gail E. Emrick, Margarita de Monroy. 2005. “Cultivating men’s interest in family planning in rural El Salvador.” Studies in Family Planning 36(3): 173-188.
• The United Nations Population Fund puts out its annual review on the state of the world’s population. As a consultant, Margaret Greene contributed significantly to several of these volumes:
  • The State of World Population 2005: The Promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the MDGs (section on men & gender inequality)
  • The State of World Population 2004: The Cairo Consensus at Ten: Population, Reproductive Health and the Global Effort to End Poverty (section on men)
  • The State of World Population 2003: Making 1 Billion Count: Investing in Adolescents’ Health and Rights (2 chapters)

If you would like to learn more about this set of issues, please see the following resources and links.