Publication: Socioeconomic Differences in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: Family Planning
Loading...
Published
2015-01
ISSN
Date
2015-09-11
Editor(s)
Abstract
Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) is one of five areas of focus of the World Banks reproductive health action plan (RHAP) 2010-2015, which recognizes the importance of addressing ASRH as a development issue with important implications for poverty reduction. Delaying childbearing and preventing unintended pregnancies during adolescence has been shown to improve health outcomes and increase opportunities for schooling, future employment, and earnings. This brief highlights the limited contraceptive use among adolescent women and the socioeconomic disparities in family planning among this population. The results indicate the importance of investing in programs aimed at increasing access to safe and effective contraceptive methods and expanding adolescents knowledge of modern contraception, particularly among adolescent women in rural and poor areas and or those with limited or no education, regardless of marital status. Continued investment should be made in female education and empowerment as a means to reach economic development goals, as well as related goals, such as an increase in adolescent contraceptive use to reduce the incidence of unplanned pregnancies.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Yarger, Jennifer; Decker, Mara; Brindis, Claire; Cortez, Rafael; Quinlan-Davidson, Meaghen. 2015. Socioeconomic Differences in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: Family Planning. Health, nutrition, and population global
practice knowledge brief;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22589 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Challenges for Adolescent's Sexual and Reproductive Health within the Context of Universal Health Coverage(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-10)Young people (10-24 years of age), around the world face tremendous challenges to meeting their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs. Inadequate access to health information and services, as well as inequitable gender norms, contributes to a lack of knowledge and awareness about puberty, sexuality, and basic human rights. This can have serious implications on young people s health and welfare as well economic development and poverty reduction. Given the importance of ASRH within the context of development as well as the paucity of data on the issue, the WBG conducted a global analysis and country case studies in order to: (i) gain a deeper understanding of the multi-sectoral determinants of ASRH outcomes; (ii) explore further the multi-sectoral supply and demand-side determinants of access, utilization, and provision of services relevant to identified ASRH outcomes; and (iii) identify multi-sectoral programmatic and policy options to address critical constraints to improving ASRH outcomes that can inform WBG lending operations and policy dialogue.Publication Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Burkina Faso(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-03)Today s adolescents and youth face substantial physical, social, legal, and economic barriers to meeting their SRH potential. Key factors underlying these issues are a lack of adolescent SRH (ASRH) policies and access to accessible, affordable, and appropriate health services. The impact that these factors have on adolescent health and development is clearly seen in Burkina Faso. Burkinabè adolescent girls face high adolescent fertility rates, early and forced marriage, an increased risk of maternal mortality, and a high unmet need for contraception, among others. Adding to this issue is a lack of access to education, basic health information, and SRH services, contributing to a lack of awareness and knowledge about SRH and traditional and harmful gender stereotypes. The objectives of the study were to understand the impact that structural and proximal determinants have on access to ASRH services and health outcomes; and the impact that recently implemented policies and programs have on ASRH.Publication Fertility Decline in the Islamic Republic of Iran 1980-2006(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-05)Despite its volatile history, the Islamic Republic of Iran has performed well on social indicators, especially in providing basic services such as health care and education. Iran's fertility decline may have proceeded in two stages, the first beginning in the late 1960s. The Iranian government introduced a family planning program during the 1960s with explicit health and demographic objectives. Between 1967 and 1977, fertility declined-mainly in urban areas-to an average of 4 children per woman. Although the family planning program continued after the 1979 Islamic revolution, it was suspended after war broke out with Iraq in 1980. During the war, the government pursued a pronatalist population policy, including incentives for childbearing. The fertility decline coincided with improvements in primary and secondary education, possibly affecting the rapid decline in adolescent fertility during 1997-2006, especially when compared to other Middle East and North Africa region countries. Today regional disparities in fertility exist with higher fertility in less developed districts. Yet Iran's example shows how good public policy interventions in health (including family planning) and education can reduce fertility and contribute to human development.Publication Fertility Regulation Behaviors and Their Costs : Contraception and Unintended Pregnancies in Africa and Eastern Europe & Central Asia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-12)The report consists of three parts: global trends in fertility, contraceptive use and unintended pregnancies; studies of two regions (Africa and Eastern Europe/Central Asia) and two countries (Nigeria and Kazakhstan) on the costs of fertility regulation behaviors and provider attitudes towards contraceptive use. Fertility levels have declined steadily over the last three decades but the pace of decline varies among regions. Countries that have achieved a high level of contraceptive use have reached a lower fertility level. A gap continues to exist between actual and desired family size, resulting in unintended pregnancies. More than one-third of the pregnancies that occur are unintended and one in five pregnancies ends in induced abortion. Almost half of all induced abortions are unsafe, and the proportion of all abortions that are unsafe have increased during the last decade. Sixty-six percent of unintended pregnancies occur among women who are not using any method of contraception. Investing in quality family planning programs is a cost-effective way to address unmet need for contraception and reduce the risks of unsafe abortion, thereby improving maternal health. If contraception were provided to the 137 million women who lack access, maternal mortality will decline by 25-35 percent.Publication Fertility Decline in Botswana 1980-2006(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-05)Botswana has had a stable democratic government and good governance since independence in 1966. With a sustained high average economic growth (about 9 percent) fueled by the diamond mining industry, it is the only country in Africa listed among the 13 'economic miracles' of the world for 1960-2005. The total fertility rate remains high in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 25 countries showing a rate greater than 5.0. In contrast, Botswana experienced the greatest fertility decline in the region during 1980-2006, with the total fertility rate decreasing from 7.1 in 1981 to 3.2 in 2006. The Botswana national family planning program, judged the strongest in Africa, contributed to this decline. The government strongly committed to meeting family planning needs, integrated maternal and child health/family planning (MCH/FP) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) services in 1973. The government spends about 18 percent of its total budget on health, a higher proportion than the Abuja declaration's target of 15 percent.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.