A Measure of the Future: Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Risk Index for the Pacific

The reproductive risk index ranks 21 of the 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) according to ten key sexual and reproductive health and rights indicators. In doing so, the RRI provides a comprehensive overview of the sexual and reproductive health and rights environments in individual PICTs, how these compare to each other, and combines them to build a clear regional picture of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The report is intended to advance Pacific policy makers’ and sexual and reproductive health and rights advocates’ understanding of the current challenges to sexual and reproductive health and rights in individual PICTs and in the region as a whole. It also enables them to identify policy and research gaps and develop and implement effective evidence-based sexual and reproductive health and rights policies – particularly for women.

There are three PICTS in the ‘Very High’ risk category: Papua New Guinea, Tokelau and Kiribati. The report recommends ignoring Tokelau’s result due to lack of data. Papua New Guinea and Kiribati, are characterised by very high maternal and infant mortality, more restrictive abortion laws, the lowest levels of skilled care at birth, low contraceptive use, low numbers of girls in secondary school, early age at marriage and high adolescent fertility rates.