Globally, women in different regions face similar problems, at different scales of intensity. Major issues include how the HIV/AIDS pandemic affects women, including their health status, as well as the different levels of family, economic and social power they hold. When greater inequality exists between men and women, countries are hindered from their full potential for economic development. There are multiple reasons for these problems, including gender inequality, and while none can be identified as the sole reason, these problems are strongly linked to women's access to reproductive health care. This includes contraception, which protects women from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, such as condoms, which help women become more assertive in their economic situation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Generally, women in less developed and middle-income countries face these problems more than women who live in developed countries. Lack of access to reproductive health care negatively impacts the level of gender equality in countries with lower levels of economic development; including the stagnation of women's cultural and economic empowerment and the consequences of disease. Because of these issues, public health officials, social workers, government, nonprofit organizations, and other entities must strive to provide women globally with both education and training. access to protective care against illness. contraceptives and other reproductive health care options. An effective way to do this is for countries to provide global aid and funding to support women's reproductive health care. In addition to the health costs associated with lack of contraception, such as exposure to HIV, the economic consequences are clear for countries with high gender inequality. Countries that experience higher levels of inequality will not be able to achieve greater economic development. If access to contraception were made a priority, perhaps some of the negative consequences governments face could be minimized. Health costs could decrease, each country's level of economic development could increase, and women could benefit from greater cultural and economic empowerment. The United Nations studies each country's development levels and ranks them based on their Human Development Index, or HDI. The HDI measures a country's level of development through income, education and life expectancy. The nine development regions studied by the United Nations are: North America, Europe, Latin America, East Asia, Southwest Asia and North Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Of these nine regions, the UN classifies two as developed regions (North America and Europe) and the other seven as developing regions. The United Nations also specifically studies issues related to gender inequality and economic development. Gender inequality is a major problem in most societies today. According to the United Nations Gender Inequality Index, there is no country in the world where women are treated as well as men. Women do not have access to decent employment, education and health care. They are not.