UNFPA in Bolivia: Improving Health by Empowering Women

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Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Three-quarters of Bolivians have a standard of living below the poverty level. Thousands of pregnant women die each year as a result of poor health, lack of prenatal and obstetric care, and having babies too close together. Efforts to address maternal mortality and other elements of sustainable human development are hampered by Bolivia’s severe gender inequalities. Expanded UNFPA assistance is needed to raise the status of women in Bolivia, and to step up access to reproductive health services in rural areas.

Bolivia’s Commitment to Development

Despite these challenges, Bolivia has made considerable progress in improving the human development situation of its people over the past decade. The percentage of women using contraceptives has increased and fertility has fallen. The number of women using prenatal care has been steadily rising. In 1996, Bolivia instituted a free universal health care scheme for all pregnant women and children under five. In 2001, the Government prepared a strategy aimed at reducing total poverty by a third, and worked together with UNFPA and other UN agencies and development partners to develop a Common Country Assessment, to identify the development challenges facing Bolivia so that its Government, UNFPA and other partners can work together to address them.

Meeting Bolivia’s Development Goals through Population Assistance

UNFPA, working in partnership with the Government and other development organizations, contributes to sustainable human development in Bolivia by focusing on gender equality, reproductive health and rights, the empowerment of indigenous people, and providing youth with the information and services they need to avoid unwanted pregancies and sexually-transmitted infection. Increased UNFPA assistance is more urgent than ever to help Bolivia achieve its human development goals, including:

• Eradicating Extreme Poverty
• Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women
• Improving Maternal Health
• Reducing Child Mortality

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