Sexual and reproductive health are integral elements of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have explicitly recognized sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as essential not only to health, but also to gender equality and wider economic and social development. Access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services are therefore critical for progressing towards universal health coverage, while also contributing to gender equality and people’s empowerment.
Ensuring access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services upholds the dignity, rights and well-being of people worldwide. When people have control over their sexuality and reproduction, they can fully participate in social, economic and political spheres. Sexual and reproductive health also impacts environmental sustainability.
Investing in a package of sexual and reproductive health services (family planning, maternal and newborn care, treatment for curable sexually transmitted infections) that fully meets the needs of women has been shown to provide multiple health, social and economic benefits including significant decreases in unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths.