SWOP 2021: NPC, UNFPA Launch Bodily Autonomy Report

Abuja, NIGERIA- UNFPA Nigeria, in collaboration with the National Population Commission of Nigeria launched the 2021 State of the World Population (SWOP) report in Abuja on June 8.  The launch was preceded by a press conference on June 7.

The theme for the 2021 report entitled My Body is My Own – Claiming the right to autonomy and self-determination, emphasizes the power and agency of women to make decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and rights.   

A flagship UNFPA publication that has been produced since 1978, the 2021 edition reveals how attempts to enforce and ensure bodily autonomy for women and girls worsened under the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase, and its consequences on the progress made in ending GBV globally, resulted in it being referred to as the “shadow pandemic”

Globally, COVID-19 caused an overload to health systems; inevitable reallocation of human and financial resources; shortages of medical personnel and supplies, and disruptions of global supply chains that undermined the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.

Such gaps and weaknesses exacerbated gender inequities and gender-based violence, noticeable with increased reports of violence during lockdowns. The reproductive and socio-economic effects had long-term consequences for fertility and demographic dividends. To mitigate these, the report proposes prompt action and responses that prioritize realizing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.