Reproductive Health

Global Reproductive Health

CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) is committed to improving the health of women, children, and families throughout the world. DRH’s staff of researchers, medical experts, and program managers with expertise in epidemiology, clinical medicine, demography, and a wide variety of other areas of public health work in countries and through partnerships to improve knowledge and services. DRH has been working in the developing world for more than 35 years, providing support and technical assistance and building capacity in a broad array of reproductive health areas. Learn more about our global reproductive health activities.

DRH’s global activities focus on—

Optimizing maternal health and pregnancy care.
Improving infant health and infant care.
Enhancing women's reproductive health.
Preventing unintended pregnancy.

…in all parts of the world, and particularly in developing countries.

Global Health Activities 2005—Present

Hover over the map below to see the countries where CDC/DRH has worked. View the list of countries we've been working in since 2005 by region and country or by activity.

What We Do

mother and baby Gather data and report reproductive health indicators.
In many countries, data to improve reproductive and child health services are collected in CDC’s national population-based reproductive health surveys. This is particularly challenging in refugee and other vulnerable immigrant populations, so CDC also has developed a reproductive health assessment toolkit for organizations working with displaced women and children.

mother and baby closeup Prevent unintended pregnancies, HIV, and STDs.
To prevent unintended pregnancies, family planning providers need science-based guidance on prescribing appropriate contraceptive methods and maintaining adequate supplies. CDC is engaged in these activities and in exploring ways to prevent STD and HIV transmission between partners and from mother to child.

Female Dr. Improve maternal, newborn, and child health and reduce maternal morbidity.
The health of women and children is linked to a nation’s development. CDC is conducting activities to improve health for mothers and babies and address the varied causes of maternal morbidity.

Monitor and prevent maternal mortality.
Despite improvements in recent years, too many women are dying in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications. An important step in solving this problem is improving maternal mortality tracking in low-resource settings.

young man Train public health leaders to assess and address reproductive health.
CDC works to develop and strengthen the capacity of leaders and organizations throughout the world in reproductive health epidemiology, monitoring and evaluation, and survey implementation.

image of globe and figures aroung it. Provide technical assistance.
CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health has assisted other nations in improving reproductive health and continues to provide global technical assistance.