Interact Worldwide Sexual and Reproductive Health
In 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, and in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Bejing, the international community agreed that basic rights should include:
- The right to a safe and pleasurable sex life
- The right to decide if and when to have children
- The right to enjoy the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) free from discrimination or coercion.
Unfortunately for many people, these rights are more rhetoric than reality. Worldwide, pregnancy-related conditions and sexually transmitted infections account for 1/3 of the global burden of disease among women of reproductive age and 1/5 among the total population. Interact Worldwide focuses its work on marginalised and vulnerable groups who have particular barriers to realising their sexual and reproductive rights such as:
- Rural women
- Adolescents
- Refugees
- Men who have sex with men
- People living with HIV.
When sexual and reproductive health needs are met, they contribute to economic growth, societal and gender equity and democratic governance. Sexual and reproductive health services encompass three main areas:
- Contraceptive services
- Maternal health services
- Services related to diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV).
Interact Worldwide supports partners to integrate and link HIV and AIDS with other SRH services where appropriate, to enable more holistic and effective care for service users.
