Sexual and reproductive health

The importance of sexual and reproductive health – and increasingly of sexual and reproductive rights – has been reflected in several key international conferences, including the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo and the 1995 Beijing conference, the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS), as well as through the agreement of the Millennium Development Goals.

In programme terms, there has been a shift away from a narrow emphasis on providing family planning services to married women. Programmes are now designed to respond to a broader range of sexual health needs, with a particular focus on young people (including boys and men) who bear a significant share of the global burden of sexual ill-health.

The focus of programme areas has expanded to include HIV prevention and safer sex promotion; diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections; abortion; infertility; management of sexual problems, and tackling sexual abuse and violence. Service providers now increasingly work with particular groups who may be especially vulnerable to sexual and reproductive ill-health, for example, sex workers, mobile populations, and men who have sex with men.

To achieve sexual and reproductive health and rights, it is vital for people to have access to non-judgemental information and good quality services that respond to their particular needs. These, in turn, require the existence of an enabling policy environment. Promotion of sexual and reproductive health also demands consideration of key health systems issues such as health sector reform, financing, procurement and logistics, and the respective roles of government, the private and non-governmental sectors. The HIV epidemic has also had a significant impact on the capacity of some countries to deliver health services.