Investing in RH, women’s health yields economic dividends – World Bank

KUALA LUMPUR – Global experts on Tuesday urged governments and the global community to invest in girls and women’s programs, including reproductive health, as this leads to major economic returns and other benefits.

“Investing in reproductive health pays off. It leads to financial benefits for the family. Maternal health helps future generations, and countries can benefit economically,” said Jeni Klugman, Director for Gender Development, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management of The World Bank (WB).

Since women make up 40 percent of the global labor force, and more than 60 percent of workers in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, their poor health “reduces labor supply and contributes to lost wages,” the WB said in its report “Investing in women’s reproductive health: Closing the deadly gap between what we know and what we do” presented during the three-day Women Deliver 2013 global conference in Kuala Lumpur.

“Improved reproductive health outcomes can increase female labor supply and productivity and therefore should be of great concern to policy makers,” the report said.

Klugman, co-writer of the report together with Karen Grepin, assistant professor of Global Health Policy of New York University, cited Bangladesh, which showed a loss in productivity as a result of maternal health conditions, specifically pregnancy complications.

“Maternal mortality and morbidity imposes costs in terms of foregone earnings, and also means that family members need to absorb the work done by women inside the home, which might reduce their own ability to exploit outside economic and educational opportunities,” she said.

Financial well-being affected

Poor maternal health also affects the financial well-being of households which may have to borrow and sell assets to pay for health care, the report added. This is true in a number of countries such as Burkina Faso and Yemen.

“Poor reproductive health can adversely affect the economic prospects of the next generation. The most extreme impacts arise when a woman or her baby dies in childbirth, but maternal ill-health can also affect her children’s well-being and schooling,” the WB said.

While Klugman acknowledged that women are becoming more empowered, inequalities still exist.

The WB added that addressing sources of gender inequality is crucial in improving the reproductive health of women.

“Investing in women and gender equality and women’s rights gives the highest return in investment you can make,” Lakshmi Puri, Acting Head of UN Women, said.

“We call upon governments, private sector, civil society, and all stakeholders to deliver for women,” Puri added, saying improving maternal health is a Millenium Development Goal.

Benefits for the community and the world

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, in his keynote speech given at the conference, said investing in projects for girls and women, particularly in their health and education, yields benefits for the community and the world.

“We know that women today play an indispensable role in every sector of society… Freed from the unnatural constraints of inequality, women can realize their potential as active participants in the community and in the world,” Razak said.

Razak said health and education are the most pressing problems facing policymakers throughout the world.

He also added that “teenage pregnancies, abandoned babies, early marriages and sexually transmitted diseases must be addressed without stigma and discrimination.”

Razak added that access to family planning services is a human right.

Still much to be done in PHL

In the Philippines, although the Reproductive Health Law has been passed and took effect on Jan. 17 this year amid much opposition from the Catholic church, much needs to be done.

“There is much to be done as far as the Philippines is concerned because we have just passed our RH Law. But being part of Women Deliver strengthens us for the work ahead,” said Benjamin de Leon, president of The Forum for Family Planning and Development.

Klugman told GMA News Online that for a predominantly Catholic country like the Philippines, it’s important to point out the gains that can be made in having reproductive health programs, as can be seen in other Catholic countries such as Colombia and Mexico.

The RH Law has yet to be implemented in the Philippines, since the Supreme Court stopped its implementation for 120 days last March 19.

Proponents of the RH Law have said, however, that they are optimistic the RH Law will be implemented in the future.

“The status quo ante order issued by the Supreme Court is only a temporary delay in the implementation of the Reproductive Health law to enable the High Court to fully assess the merits and demerits of the pending petitions challenging the constitutionality of the RH law. I firmly believe that eventually the constitutionality of the RH law will be sustained,” Lagman said in a statement.

“In the end, I’m confident that the legality and constitutionality of the RH law will prevail and our people will start to benefit from it,” said Sen. Pia Cayetano, co-sponsor of the RH Law.

De Leon said the Philippines’ experience in women’s issues will be tackled at the Women Deliver conference on Wednesday.

“Advancing women’s issues in the country will be featured in a plenary session chaired by a powerful figure for women around the world in the person of Ms. Melinda Gates,” de Leon said. Gates is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. – HS, GMA News