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Volume 2, Number 16
22 April 2002
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
UK
High Court Rejects Bid to Ban Morning-After Pill
(news article)
A legal bid to end the sale of the morning-after pill
in chemists without prescription has been defeated
in the UK.
In
'Major' Policy Shift, South Africa to Provide HIV/AIDS
Drugs, Counseling to Sexual Assault Survivors
(news article)
The antiretroviral drugs will be part of a "comprehensive
care package" for sexual assault survivors that
will also include counseling and testing for sexually
transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and HIV.
Nigeria:
Senate Wants Two-year Term for Genital Mutilation
(news article)
The Nigerian senate recommended a two-year imprisonment
or N10,000 fine as penalty for each offender in a
bill seeking to prohibit the circumcision of girls
and women.
Kenya:
Women Demand State Protection Against 'Cut' (news
article)
Women from the North Rift want State protection accorded
to girls threatened with female genital mutilation.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
The
Impact of an Integrated Family Planning Program in
Russia (research abstract)
Surveys indicated that project activities affected
women's knowledge of family planning methods and caused
women to have more favorable attitudes toward modern
contraception methods. In addition, abortion rates
decreased in project sites while remaining virtually
unchanged in the comparison site.
Strengthening Primary Health Care and Family Planning Services in
Pakistan: Some Critical Issues (research abstract)
A situational analysis followed by focus group discussions
discovered several problems faced by Lady Health Workers
and the Village-based Family Planning Workers, including
proper training and backup support.
Tubal
Surface Lidocaine Mediates Pre-emptive Analgesia in
Awake Laparoscopic Sterilization: A Prospective, Randomized
Clinical Trial (research abstract)
Applying an analgesic to the fallopian tubes before
tubal occlusion reduces pain scores during awake laparoscopic
sterilization.
Related news article: Lidocaine
Applied to Fallopian Tubes Reduces Pain of Laparoscopic
Sterilization
Risks
of Some Health Problems Are Elevated Among Implant
Users (research digest)
The levonorgestrel-releasing implant is highly effective
and generally safe, but is associated with higher
risks of some health problems than are other, nonsteroidal
contraceptive methods, according to a cohort study
of women in eight developing countries.
What
is the Most Effective Treatment for External Genital
Warts? (research digest)
A summary of evidence for clinical best practices
is presented.
Breastfeeding
and Contraception in Peru (research article)
Women using oral contraceptives tended to breastfeed
their children the shortest length of time, while
women relying on periodic abstinence or withdrawal
breastfed their children the longest.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
Smoking
Parents Produce Fewer Boys (news article)
Parents who smoke produce fewer boys, according to
research on Japanese couples. The researchers do not
know the mechanism for the effect, but they say both
the mother's and father's smoking habits are important.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
Impact
of HIV/AIDS on Older Populations (fact sheet)
There is growing evidence that older people are increasingly
being infected by HIV/AIDS. Different risk factors
for older people are presented, as is the impact of
HIV on the elderly.
Highly
Active Antiretroviral Treatment Does not Increase
Sexual Risk Behavior Among French HIV Infected Injecting
Drug Users (research abstract)
Contrary to researchers' fears, HIV-positive patients
undergoing treatment with antiretrovirals reported
a reduction in the levels of unprotected sexual intercourse
in the previous six months of being surveyed.
Suppression
of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Replication during
Acute Measles (research abstract)
HIV replication is transiently suppressed during acute
measles at a time of intense immune activation.
Related News Article: Measles
Infection Boosts Immune System, Suppresses HIV Levels
in Children with Both Conditions, Study Shows
Quantitative
Process Evaluation of a Community-Based HIV/AIDS Behavioral
Intervention in Rural Uganda (research abstract)
In spite of some initial resistance to the intervention,
particularly in relation to condoms, the study population
accepted and actively participated in the dissemination
of HIV/AIDS prevention messages throughout their own
communities.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
Health
Workers Fear HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Afghanistan
(news article)
The infection pattern of HIV and sexually transmitted
diseases in Afghanistan is unclear due to lack of
relevant research.
Mobile
Units for HIV/AIDS Prevention in Ethiopia (news
article)
The mobile units provide information on HIV/AIDS,
distribute male and female condoms, offer voluntary
counseling and testing, and provide treatment for
sexually transmitted infections to those most at risk.
Romania's
AIDS-Stricken Children Live in Shadow of Death (news article)
The living conditions of thousands of Romanian children
infected by the HIV/AIDS virus have improved in the
last decade, but hundreds now face the risk of dying
rapidly because the medication they need to keep them
alive is no longer available.
Expert
Meeting Examines Impact of Armed Conflict on HIV/AIDS
Epidemic (press release)
Situations of conflict, violence and instability accelerate
the spread of HIV/AIDS.
HIV to Hit 30% of S.Africa Workers
by 2005 (news article)
Almost a quarter of South Africa's workforce is already
infected with HIV/AIDS and the figure will rise to
nearly 30% by 2005, a labour consultancy states in
a new report.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Episiotomy
Rates in Primiparous Women in Latin America: Hospital
Based Descriptive Study (research article)
Nine in every 10 women who had a spontaneous birth
of their first child in hospitals in Latin America
between 1995 and 1998 had an episiotomy. Yet scientific
evidence shows that routine episiotomy is not justified:
it has no benefit for mother or infant, increases
the need for perineal suturing and the risk of complications
to the healing process at seven days postpartum, produces
unnecessary pain and discomfort, and has potentially
harmful long term effects. The article highlights
the need to change current obstetric practices in
Latin America.
Time
to Focus Child Survival Programs on the Newborn: Assessment
of Levels and Causes of Infant Mortality in Rural
Pakistan 
(research article)
Neonatal deaths contribute greatly to infant mortality
rates in the clusters studies in Pakistan. This indicated
a need for child survival programs to give greater
emphasis to maternal and neonatal health, in particular
to maternal tetanus immunization, safe delivery, and
cord care.
Consumer
Demand for Cesarean Sections In Brazil: Informed Decision
Making, Patient Choice, or Social Inequality? A Population
Based Birth Cohort Study Linking Ethnographic and
Epidemiological Methods (research article)
Fear of substandard care is behind many poor women's
preferences for a cesarean section in Brazil, as they
link medical interventions with good quality of care.
Dicing with Death? The Impact of
Hospital Choice and Other Factors on Maternal Mortality
(research summary)
Research in Kenya finds large variability in maternal
mortality among hospitals. The risk of maternal death
for a high-risk woman varies from four to 280 deaths
per 1000 admissions depending on the hospital. For
a low-risk woman the risk is between 0.16 to 19.6
deaths.
Geography
of Child Mortality Clustering Within African Families
(research abstract)
Researchers used nationally representative family
level data from all sub-regions of Africa and found:
1) levels of mortality have generally declined in
all countries over time, and as mortality decreases,
mortality clustering tends to follow the same trend;
2) bio-demographic covariates have a more important
effect on familial mortality clustering risks than
socio-economic ones.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS
Mattress
Bugs may Link to Cot Deaths (news article)
Bacteria associated with some cot deaths seem to thrive
in vomit-soaked foam, especially if babies are not
breast fed.
Work
Stress Linked to Pre-eclampsia (news article)
Women who work during pregnancy are almost five times
more likely to develop the potentially life-threatening
condition than women who do not work.
Africa:
Partnerships Avert 15,000 Neonatal Deaths (news
article)
Malawi, Namibia, and Zimbabwe will soon join the list
of countries that have eliminated neonatal tetanus.
MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
An
Evaluation of the Effects of Sucrose on Neonatal Pain
with Two Commonly Used Circumcision Methods (research
abstract)
Crying and grimacing during circumcision are markedly
reduced when the infant sucks a sweetened pacifier
and when the Mogen procedure is used.
MEN'S HEALTH NEWS
High
Ozone Levels Hurt Sperm Count, Study Finds (news
story)
Ozone can adversely affect a man's sperm, reducing
their numbers as well as their crucial ability to
move or "swim."
POPULATION RESEARCH
On
the Prospects for Endless Fertility Decline in South
Asia
(research paper)
How
Long Will it Take for Bangladesh to Reach the Replacement-level
Fertility?
(research paper)
POPULATION NEWS
U.N.
Population Honor Given to Two Recipients (news
article)
The U.N. Population Award is presented every year
to individuals and institutions that have made outstanding
contributions to increasing awareness or promoting
solutions for population dilemmas. This year's U.N.
Population Award has been given to two recipients:
Dr. Kwasi Odoi-Agyarko, who spearheaded an innovative
rural health program in Ghana, and the nongovernmental
organization EngenderHealth, which offers training
and technical assistance to reproductive health service
providers in developing countries.
Pakistan:
Population to Reach 320m in 25 Years (news article)
The problem of population is perhaps the most important
health hurdle in the way of development for Pakistan.
Despite a slight decline in growth rate, current estimates
show that Pakistan's population will double to 320
million people within 25 years.
Russia's
Population Decline Spells Trouble (news article)
Russia is facing a demographic crisis so dire that
its population could shrink by half within 50 years.
One demographer predicts that the ratio of worker
to pensioner will be 1 to 1 within two decades.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Cutting
out uncertainty - reproductive health effects of female
genital cutting (research summary)
Researchers address the question of reproductive health
consequences of the practice and emphasize the importance
of a human-rights based approach to campaigning against
genital cutting.
Hormone
Replacement Therapy Falls Out of Favor with Expert Committee
(research summary)
An international team of women's health experts is
discouraging the use of hormone replacement therapy
for many postmenopausal conditions. Coronary heart
disease, fractures, depression, urinary incontinence--all
cited in the past as prime reasons to initiate therapy--are
losing favor as valid indications for it.
Related News Article: Do
Not Put Too Much Faith in HRT, Warn Medical Experts
"Women
Enjoy Punishment:" Attitudes and Experiences
of Gender-Based Violence Among Primary Health Care
Nurses in Rural South Africa (research abstract)
Nurses are women and men first, and as such, experience
the same cultural values, and indeed, similar or higher
levels of violence, as the clients they are expected
to counsel and treat. This may affect the care that
clients receive.
Endogenous
Sex Hormones and Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women:
Reanalysis of Nine Prospective Studies (research
abstract)
Levels of endogenous sex hormones are strongly associated
with breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women.
Related news article: Sex Hormone
Levels Linked to Breast Cancer Risk
WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Violence
Against Women on the Increase in Pakistan (news
article)
Pakistan's minister for human rights conceded that
violence against women remains a problem despite the
introduction of harsh sentences, including in at least
one case the death penalty.
Sex
Trafficking is Flourishing in Balkans (news article)
Thousands of young women are shuttled to and through
the Balkans every year by criminal networks, ending
up forced into prostitution.
Female
Genital Mutilation Increases Infections, Researchers
Say (news article)
Women who have undergone female genital mutilation
in The Gambia have a higher prevalence of bacterial
and viral infections, a recent study found.
YOUTH RESEARCH
Adolescent
Reproductive Health: Overview and Lessons Learned
(research paper)
YOUTH NEWS
Africa:
Film Educates Youth on HIV/AIDS (news article)
Safe
Haven Opens in Kenya for Young Women Fleeing Circumcision
and Forced Marriage (news article)
Fourteen girls arriving since the shelter's April
8th opening seek refuge from female circumcision and
forced marriage.
Teenager
Rejected for Reporting Rapist Uncle (news article)
A Zimbabwean family has disowned a 14-year-old girl
because she reported her uncle to police after he
allegedly raped her and infected her with HIV.
Sexual
Trafficking in Bangladesh (news article)
About 400 teenage Bangladeshi women become victims
of organized human trafficking every month, resulting
in early pregnancies and high maternal mortality among
these young women.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
Sexual
And Gender-Based Violence Bibliography
A comprehensive resource designed to improve international
and local capacity to address GBV among refugee and
internally displaced populations. Discusses prevention,
protection, assessment, monitoring, evaluation, and
sustainability issues, among others.
Assessing
Women's Well-being in Asia
After centuries of male domination in much of Asia,
women's lives are improving with economic development,
social modernization, and better access to health
and family planning technology. Yet many Asian women
still face problems of low status at home and in the
workplace. This newsletter examines various indicators
in an effort to assess how women's well-being has
changed over the years in Asia.
Statistical
yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2001
Various data tables with information on different
indicators of economic and social development are
available for Latin America and the Caribbean for
2001. These include population, economic growth, employment,
social conditions, and others. (Report files are available
in PDF format, and you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to
access the different chapters of the report.)
Adolescent
Reproductive Health Laws and Legislations in Asia
and the Pacific
(you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the chapters)
The package contains reviews of legislations in the
Asia-Pacific region dealing with early marriage and
early childbearing; unwanted pregnancy and safe abortion;
access to family planning/reproductive health services;
HIV/AIDS and STDs; and violence against women.
WHO:
Cervical Cancer, Oral Contraceptives, and Parity
On 11 March 2002, WHO's Department of Reproductive
Health and Research convened an international group
of experts to review new information on the subject,
including research findings from WHO's International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and several
reviews commissioned by WHO. The experts recommended
no changes in oral contraceptive prescribing practice
or use.
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