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Volume 2, Number 30
29 July 2002
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
Mass
Sterilization Scandal Shocks Peru (news article)
More than 200,000 people in rural Peru were pressured
into being sterilized by the government of former
President Alberto Fujimori, an official report has
revealed.
Reproductive
Health in Developing Countries: The Commission Moves
to Fill the 'Decency Gap' with €32 Million Package
(news article)
This decision makes good a promise made by Development
and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner last year to step
in and fill the 'decency gap' left by the US Administration's
intention to end its support for the UNFPA.
UNFPA
Welcomes EU Funds; US Newspapers Blast Bush (news
article)
Several US newspapers have condemned the withdrawal
of funds, in particular criticizing President Bush's
administration for basing its decision on UNFPA's
alleged indirect support of coercive family planning
in China.
Chad
Passes Law on Reproductive Health (news article)
The Chadian Parliament has passed a law guaranteeing
protection for the reproductive health and rights
of its citizens. The new law draws mainly from a regional
document prepared at a meeting of West African parliamentarians
in Dakar in 1999.
China:
Reaction to Proposed Dual Standards for Birth Control
in Jiangsu (news article)
A recent proposal put forward by deputies to the People's
Congress of Jiangsu Province has led to quite an outcry.
It sought to give citizens of high educational attainment
permission to have a second child while at the same
time strengthening birth control measures for poorly
educated peasants.
Transplants for HIV+ Patients? Ethicists
Say Yes (news article)
Patients who are HIV-positive and need an organ transplant
should receive equal access to donor organs, according
to some US doctors and ethics experts.
UK:
High Court Dismisses Pill Case (news article)
The High Court dismissed a lawsuit brought on behalf
of about 100 women who claimed they had been harmed
by the latest generation of birth control pills.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
The
Impact of the Work Environment on Condom Use among
Female Bar Workers in the Philippines (PubMed
abstract)
Researchers found that in establishments where a condom
use policy exists, female bar workers were 2.6 times
more likely to consistently use condoms during sexual
intercourse compared with establishments that do not
have such a policy in place.
Dual Method Use in South Africa (research note)
HTML
| PDF
Of the 554 subjects, 16 percent had used both a condom
and another form of contraception at their most recent
sexual encounter. Dual method use was independently
associated with increased schooling and previous instruction
on condom use from health care providers. Qualitative
data from follow-up interviews suggest that dual method
use occurs when a man's desire to protect himself
against HIV or other STIs coincides with his female
partner's desire to prevent pregnancy.
Paying
for Reproductive Health Services in Bangladesh: Intersections
Between Cost, Quality and Culture (research abstract)
This paper examines a number of barriers to access
and constraints to cost recovery, including gender,
class and ideas about entitlements, the role of government
and obligations among people.
Prevalence
and Risk Factors of Sexually Transmitted Infections
and Cervical Neoplasia in Women's Health Clinics in
Nicaragua (research abstract)
Nearly one out of five women attending women's health
clinics in Nicaragua had an STI, and one out of 13
a precancerous lesion of the cervix. These clinics
provide an opportunity to improve the reproductive
health of women by probing for STI symptoms, especially
in young women, and by offering cervical screening
to casual attendees.
Strategies Adopted by Caribbean Family Planning
Associations to Address Declining International Funding
(commentary) HTML
| PDF
Most Caribbean countries have been designated as areas
of midlevel need (category B of the United Nations
Population Fund's prioritization system) and have
experienced funding reductions. Bahamas and Barbados,
have been graded as areas of low-level need (category
C) and are slated for an elimination of funding by
2005.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
FDA Mulls Nonsurgical Sterilization
(news article)
A tiny, spring-like device threaded into the fallopian
tubes seems to offer women permanent birth control
without surgery and should be approved for sale, advisers
to the Food and Drug Administration voted.
Gambia:
Religious Leaders Frown on Population Checks (news
article)
Religious leaders in the Gambia have made denunciations
against what they called the indiscriminate application
and distribution of contraceptive devices, which are
designed to check population growth at the national
level.
Warning Reversed on Norplant Contraceptive
System (news article)
Women using Norplant contraceptive implants distributed
since October 1999 do not need to use a back-up birth
control method. In August 2000 it was reported that
the implants might not be effective due to shelf-life
stability problems, but several tests have shown the
products are in fact effective.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
Private
Demand for a HIV/AIDS Vaccine: Evidence from Guadalajara,
Mexico (PubMed abstract)
A conservative estimate of the mean willingness to
pay of adults in a Guadalajara sample is 6358 pesos
(US$ 669) and the median is 3000 pesos (US$ 316).
Individuals with higher incomes, with spouses or partners,
and with higher perceived risks of becoming infected
with HIV are willing to pay more for the vaccine;
older respondents are willing to pay less.
HIV
Deaths in African Children Quadrupled in 1990s
(research summary)
World Health Organization researchers estimate that
the AIDS death rate in African children under age
5 jumped from 2 percent in 1990 to 7.7 percent in
1999.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
Tanzania
Bans Song "Promoting" AIDS (news article)
Government officials say the song, in the national
language Swahili, contains a verse that has been inciting
people to go out and catch the disease. Music lovers,
on the other hand, insist the song was meant toscare
people from forced marriages, a practice prevalent
among the Wazaramu ethnic group living in Tanzania's
coastal region.
Breaking
Niger's AIDS 'Wall of Silence' (news article)
A sociologist tells a shocked national television
audience that he is HIV positive in a country where
sex is a taboo subject.
Prostitution
Drives Russian AIDS Epidemic (news article)
In Kaliningrad, as in all of Russia, HIV has spread
almost entirely through the use of intravenous drugs.
Russia has one of the fastest-growing AIDS epidemics
in the world. More recently in Kaliningrad figures
show a sharp increase in HIV infections through sex.
Global
AIDS Fund Clashes with South African Health Minister
(news article)
South African Health Minister lashed out at the Global
Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria over
the fund's decision to accord a $72 million grant
directly to KwaZulu-Natal, the province that applied
for the funds, rather than channeling the money through
the central government. "The Global Fund was
trying to bypass the democratically elected government
and put it (the money) in the hands of civil authorities,"
the Health Minister said.
Universal
Education Seen as Crucial in AIDS Fight (news
article)
With HIV/AIDS hindering the ability of schools in
some countries to deliver education services, new
initiatives are afoot to rescue the sector and turn
schools into powerful weapons against an epidemic
that killed 3 million people in 2001 and saw 5 million
people newly infected with the AIDS-causing virus.
South African Students Call for Better
Nationwide Sstrategy in Battle Against HIV (news
article)
Thousands of college students and teachers marched
to call for better programs to combat HIV and an end
to the stigma attached to the virus that infects 11
percent of the country.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Factors
Associated with Maternal Mortality in Rural Guinea-Bissau.
A Longitudinal Population-Based Study (research
abstract)
For the purpose of reducing maternal mortality, the
screening approach of antenatal care is of limited
value. Age and parity should not be used routinely
as selection criteria for transfer of otherwise healthy
pregnant women to higher-level health institutions.
Are
Women and Providers Satisfied with Antenatal Care?
Views on a Standard and a Simplified, Evidence-Based
Model of Care in Four Developing Countries 
(research article)
This study compared a new ANC model with the standard
type offered in each country. The new model emphasized
actions known to be effective in improving maternal
or neonatal health, excluded other interventions that
have not proved to be beneficial, and improved the
information component. More women in the intervention
arm were satisfied with information on labor, delivery,
family planning, pregnancy complications, and emergency
procedures. More providers in the experimental clinics
were worried about visit spacing, but more satisfied
with the time spent and information provided.
A
Population-Based Comparison of Strategies to Prevent
Early-Onset Group B Streptococcal Disease in Neonates
(research summary)
Related news article: Antibiotics
Cut One Newborn Infection, Up Another
The use of antibiotics during labor and delivery has
sharply cut the risk of a type of a potentially life-threatening
blood infection among newborns in the US--but it may
do so at the price of boosting infections caused by
another type of bacteria, new research suggests.
Vaccinating
Breastfeeding and Pregnant Women (research article)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
revised its General Recommendations on Immunization
and updated the 1994 statement by the Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices. Among other principal changes
are an expansion of the discussion of vaccination
spacing and timing and an expanded discussion of contraindications
and precautions regarding vaccinations. This report
provides technical guidance regarding common immunization
concerns for health-care providers in the United States
who administer vaccines.
Diarrheal
Disease and its Treatment among Brazilian Children:
Stagnation and Progress over a Ten-Year Period
(research report)
Examining trends in diarrhea prevalence from 1986
to 1996 finds only a very modest decline in the prevalence
of diarrhea among children. The use of Oral Rehydration
Therapy during this time period, however, increased
greatly. This increase did not reduce the prevalence
of diarrhea, suggesting that perhaps that the focus
on curative care took place at the expense of preventive
care.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS
Zinc in Pregnancy Possibly Harmful
for Infants (news article)
Giving zinc to poor women during pregnancy does not
appear to boost their infants' mental development,
and may actually hurt it, according to a study conducted
in Bangladesh. The investigators conclude that giving
very poorly nourished women zinc alone during pregnancy
is clearly not enough and "should be considered
with caution."
Nerve Transmitters Tied to Memory
Dip in Pregnancy (news article)
Some pregnant women may feel their memory is failing
them, and new research provides evidence that it's
not just in their heads. A study of 50 healthy, pregnant
women found that scores on memory tests during the
second trimester dipped in tandem with blood levels
of three neurotransmitters (chemicals that relay messages
among nerve cells).
Acupuncture During Labor Lowers Need
for Pain Meds (news article)
Women who receive acupuncture during labor may be
less likely to ask for an epidural to relieve their
pain, and may even feel more relaxed, than those who
go without the ancient Chinese treatment, researchers
report. Women who received acupuncture did not experience
any negative effects from the treatment.
New
Effort to Reach Women with Tetanus Vaccine Could Save
Thousands of Lives (press release)
UNICEF announced concentrated efforts to reach women
in poor, hard-to- reach communities with vaccine against
maternal and neonatal tetanus, an effort it said could
potentially save the lives of thousands of women and
their new-born children.
Children
to Get Viagra in Lung Disease Trial (news article)
Viagra is being given to babies and children around
the world to try to save them from life-threatening
lung conditions. The anecdotal evidence and case studies
reported so far suggest the anti-impotence drug is
a promising treatment for pulmonary hypertension in
both children and adults.
MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Shigellosis
Linked to Sex Venues, Australia (research article)
From January 1 to July 31, 2000, 148 cases of Shigella
infection were reported in New South Wales, Australia,
compared with an annual average of 95 cases. Of reported
cases, 83 percent were confirmed as Shigella sonnei
biotype G infections; 80 percent were in homosexual
men. Visiting a sex venue in the 2 weeks before onset
of illness was the only factor significantly associated
with shigellosis.
Risk
Factors for Genital HPV DNA in Men Resemble Those
Found in Women: A Study of Male Attendees at a Danish
STD Clinic (research abstract)
Most risk factors for HPV DNA detection in men resemble
those found in women, including lifetime number of
partners. As in women, the risk factor profile for
the oncogenic HPV types was different from that of
the non-oncogenic HPV types.
MEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Being
a Man 'Is Bad for Health' (news article)
Men are more likely to die younger than women at any
age. Researchers who studied the risk of premature
death among men in 20 countries discovered that in
the United States in 1998 men up to the age of 50
were twice as likely to die as women. The researchers
believe a variety of factors, including population
growth, the spread of infectious diseases and improvements
in public health, which may have benefited women more
than men, are responsible for the disparity.
POPULATION RESEARCH
Changing
Fertility Rates in Developed Countries. The Impact
of Labor Market Institutions
(research report)
During the last two decades, fertility rates have
sharply decreased in most developed countries, childbearing
has been delayed, and fertility rates and female participation
rates across OECD countries have become positively
correlated.
Prospects
for Change in the Chinese Family Planning Program:
Notes from the Field
(research report)
When China's One-Child Policy changes, it will have
to take into account the massive family planning bureaucracy
that has grown around this policy. This report describes
the evolution of family planning program conditions,
particularly from the standpoint of local cadres.
POPULATION NEWS
4
Kids Enough, Says Minister for Primary Health Care
(news article)
Ugandan Minister of State for Primary Health Care
has recommended that a woman should produce only four
children due to heavy burden of reproductive health
related illness and economic reasons.
Pakistan:
Population Growth Nullifies Development (news
article)
Punjab governor Khalid Maqbool has said the shortage
of educational and health facilities as well as food
and water can never be overcome till the rate of population
growth is contained.
UAE
is Second Most Populous State in GCC (news article)
The population of the six-nation GCC grew by nearly
nine million over the past decade to reach around
31 million at the end of 2000, an annual increase
of about one million people, according to official
estimates.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Going
Along to Get Along: Female Sexual Submission in Urban
China
This paper examines the conditions under which women
submit to the sexual desires of their husband or primary
sexual partner.
The
Waiting Time Paradox: Population Based Retrospective
Study of Treatment Delay and Survival of Women with
Endometrial Cancer in Scotland (research article)
Few studies have linked delay in treatment with survival
for gynecological cancers, although a study from Israel
found that survival from endometrial cancer was not
affected by a delay in treatment of four months. This
study found that delay and survival were inversely
related: Women with the shortest delay had more advanced
disease and survival was least likely for these patients.
Human
Papillomavirus and the Long-term Risk of Cervical
Neoplasia (research abstract)
Related news article: More Details
on Cervical Cancer - Virus Link
Women infected with HPV subtypes 18, 31 or 33 were
more than 50 times as likely to develop cervical cancer
as uninfected women. Furthermore, those who were infected
with the 16 subtype showed a more than 100-fold increased
risk of cancer compared with those who were virus-free.
Insights
From Gene Arrays on the Development and Growth Regulation
of Uterine Leiomyomata (PubMed abstract)
Related news article: Genes Linked
to Uterine Fibroids
Researchers have identified 145 genes, three of which
are passed from father to daughter, that are involved
in the development and growth of uterine fibroids.
WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Menstruation Time of Increased Heart
Attack Risk (news article)
A premenopausal woman's risk of suffering a heart
attack is higher during her menstrual period, when
hormone levels are low, than at other points in the
cycle, researchers have found.
Cervical
Cancer Vaccine Tested (news article)
A vaccine that has shown good results in possibly
preventing one of the prime causes of cervical cancer
will be tested on up to 300 New Zealand women.
Containing
a Debasing Tradition (news article/opinion piece)
Although the Kenyan government has criminalized female
genital mutilation, it must still go the extra mile
to eradicate the outdated practice from the 55 districts
where it is prevalent.
Iran
'Brothel' Plan Rejected (news article)
A controversial plan to set up what are being denounced
as licensed brothels in Iran has been rejected by
official bodies.
YOUTH RESEARCH
Phthirus
Pubis as a Predictor for Chlamydia Infections In Adolescents
(PubMed abstract)
Pubic lice infestation is predictive of a concurrent
C trachomatis infection in this study's population.
Adolescents infested with pubic lice should be screened
for other STIs, including chlamydia and gonorrhea.
YOUTH NEWS
The
Poor Shall Always Be With Us (news article)
Can the World Summit on Sustainable Development address
the needs of the growing numbers of dispossessed youth?
Wendy, for example, ended up in Managua on the street
with nothing but the clothes on her back and some
pocket money. With only a grade school education and
no skills, she was forced to turn to "occasional"
prostitution to earn money.
Pakistan:
Juvenile Girls Wedded to Old Men (news article)
Women and human rights activists in Pakistan expressed
outrage, strongly condemning a private deal between
two families under which juvenile girls were married
to old men as part of a compensation package to save
four murder convicts on death row.
Tajikistan:
Focus on Trafficking (news article)
Travelling on a local bus in the northern Tajik city
of Khujand, 13-year-old Lola was abducted by a woman
who told onlooking passengers that she was her mother.
Despite her persistent cries for help, she was taken
to a house where 14 other girls, hooked on heroin,
were kept and sold to men every night.
UK:
Sex Board Game 'Protects Pupils' Health' (news
article)
Developers of a game called "Contraception"
at Salford University hope it will help cut rising
teenage pregnancy rates and increase awareness of
sexually-transmitted diseases. But family value campaigners
have labelled the game a "stunt" which will
fail to impact on the number of teenage pregnancies.
BOOKS / BOOK REVIEWS
Health
Services in Latin America and Asia (book abstract)
Health Services in Latin America and Asia takes a
close look at how countries in both regions provide
health care services, including the strategies that
work and the problems that persist.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
Work
With Young Refugees to Ensure Their Reproductive Health
and Well-Being: It's Their Right and Our Duty
Refugee adolescents, especially girls, may face increased
exposure to sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV/AIDS, as they are targeted for sexual violence
and exploitations by fighting forces, peacekeepers,
and as girls and boys may increasingly have sex at
a younger age without prevention information.
25 Questions
and Answers on Health and Human Rights.
Human rights violations such as discrimination or
violence against women and children and harmful traditional
practices can have serious health consequences. Protecting
human rights, however, can reduce vulnerability to
and the impact of ill health. To acknowledge and spell
out the linkages between health and human rights,
the World Health Organization published this document.
This is the first compilation of answers to key questions
in an area which lately has received added focus and
attention. The booklet is intended to assist governments
and others concerned in developing a human rights
approach to public health work.
Interim
Findings on the National PMTCT Pilot Sites Summary
of Lessons and Recommendations (booklet)
In 2000 the South African government introduced a
programme offering prevention of mother-to-child transmission
(PMTCT) services at 18 pilot sites.This booklet provides
some basic facts about the effects of the medicine,
Nevirapine, and formula feeding in a PMTCT programme.
It then goes on to summarise the interim findings
of an evaluation of the pilot sites.
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