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Volume 2, Number 43
28 October 2002
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
South
Africa Considers Supplying Antiretroviral Drugs to
AIDS Patients (news article)
The South African government has announced it is to
look into the possibility of supplying antiretroviral
drugs to people with HIV and AIDS. The announcement
signals a major change in its policy so far and creates
hope among activists and people with the disease that
some relief may become available to those who cannot
afford the medication.
Nigeria:
Alamieyeseigha Signs Genital Mutilation Prohibition
Bill (news article)
Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa has signed
into law two bills passed by the state House of Assembly.
One law is the "Bayelsa State Female Genital
Mutilation Prohibition Law, 2002."
International
Family Planning Programs: Criticisms and Responses
(policy brief)
Family planning programs occupy an unusual place in
the public policy arena. They exist in virtually every
nation in the world, yet they continue to spark controversy
in some quarters. This policy brief looks at the main
controversies of family planning programs, how programs
have changed in response to criticisms, and lessons
learned for policy-makers.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
The
Role of Behavior Change in the Decline in HIV Prevalence
in Uganda 
(research memo)
Related news article: Flexible
but Comprehensive: Developing Country HIV Prevention
Efforts Show Promise
Uganda's successful reduction of HIV prevalence rates
during the 1990s resulted from progress on all three
fronts of its behavior-change prevention strategy-delaying
sexual initiation among young people, reducing the
number of sexual partners and promoting condom use
among people who are sexually active.
Planning
and Implementing a Program of Renovations of Emergency
Obstetric Care Facilities: Experiences in Rajasthan,
India (PubMed abstract)
The study focuses on the actual in-the-field experiences
of the renovation of emergency obstetric care facilities
initiated by the health system in Rajasthan, India
and the valuable lessons obtained from it.
Merits
of DMPA Relative to Other Reversible Contraceptive
Methods (PubMed abstract)
Of all the highly effective methods of reversible
contraception, depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA)
offers the longest contraceptive activity after a
single dose of any method that does not need an invasive
procedure to be reversed.
The
Prevalence of Reproductive Tract Infections in Hue,
Vietnam (research abstract)
This study was conducted in central Vietnam to measure
the prevalence of reproductive tract infections among
clients of a family planning clinic, and to determine
the usefulness of simple, clinic-based diagnostic
tests.
Quick
Start: A Novel Oral Contraceptive Initiation Method
(PubMed abstract)
The study prospectively evaluated predictors of short-term
oral contraceptive (OC) continuation among 250 OC
requestors who were offered several approaches to
OC initiation.
Emergency
Contraception: Characteristics of Demand (PubMed
abstract)
Researchers set out to define the profile of women
requesting emergency contraception (EC) at a family
planning clinic in Madrid. The average age of the
women was 24 years (range, 14 to 49 years). The reasons
for requesting EC included condom breakage (69%) and
because they had intercourse without any protection
(12%). Most (33%) were referred to the clinic by a
general practitioner, 26% knew of the clinic, 19%
were sent by acquaintances, and 16% from emergency
services.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
Many
Women Don't Know Pill Can Put Periods on Hold
(news article)
Many women would like to skip their monthly period,
but few are aware they have the option of doing so.
Uganda
Will Need 80 Million Condoms In 2003 (news article)
A Ugandan health official said that his country will
need to import 80 million condoms in 2003 to meet
the rising demand among the 24.6 million people in
this AIDS-stricken country. The condoms, which cost
about 3 cents a piece, will cost $2.4 million, an
expense that will be picked up by anti-AIDS programs
or through condom sales, said Vasta Kibirige, coordinator
of the condom unit in the Ministry of Health.
Woman
Heads Tokyo Office of UN Population Fund (news
article)
Kiyoko Ikegami, 51, became the director of the first
Tokyo office of the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA) last month. Believing that education is the
key to eradicating poverty and controlling population
growth, her first task is to improve public recognition
of the organization's activities.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
HIV
Infections in Sub-Saharan Africa Not Explained by
Sexual or Vertical Transmission (PubMed abstract)
The authors argue that an expanding body of evidence
challenges the conventional hypothesis that sexual
transmission is responsible for more than 90% of adult
HIV infections in Africa. They point to the possibility
that HIV transmission through unsafe medical care
may be an important factor in Africa's HIV epidemic.
Heat-Denatured
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Protein 24 Antigen:
Prognostic Value in Adults with Early-Stage Disease
(research abstract)
Related news article: Inexpensive
Test Predicts AIDS Progression
A relatively inexpensive test is as effective as currently
used tests for predicting how soon a person infected
with HIV will progress to full-blown AIDS. Because
the test is so much cheaper than other ones, it could
be particularly useful in developing countries with
limited healthcare budgets.
Vitamin
A Supplementation in Pregnancy does not Reduce Mother-to-Child
Transmission of HIV (Cochrane review abstract)
The study assesses the effects of antenatal and intrapartum
vitamin A supplementation, compared to an appropriate
control group, on the risk of MTCT of HIV infection
and infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, and
the tolerability of vitamin A supplementation.
Vaginal
Disinfection During Labor for Reducing the Risk of
Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Infection
(Cochrane review abstract)
In this review the available evidence for preventing
HIV transmission from an HIV-infected woman to her
child is assessed. Specifically, the review was conducted
to estimate the effect of vaginal lavage on the risk
of MTCT of HIV and infant and maternal mortality and
morbidity, as well as tolerability of vaginal lavage
in HIV-infected women.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
New
Strategy Proposed for Fighting HIV (news article)
An ancient defense mechanism that plants and other
organisms use to fight off viruses holds promise as
a strategy for treating HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS, and other diseases as well, scientists assert
in a new report. The mechanism, known as RNA interference,
"has the potential to revolutionize biology."
World
Bank Commits $1 Billion to Fight Africa AIDS (news
article)
The World Bank has committed $1 billion to fight HIV/AIDS
in Africa and much of the support will be in the form
of grants.
Fight
Against HIV/AIDS Should Address Women's and Girls'
Specific Needs, African Women Leaders Say (press
release)
More than 80 women ministers, parliamentarians, and
other leaders from sub-Saharan Africa met in Cape
Verde to address the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS
on the region's population, particularly its women.
The meeting highlighted the need for African women
leaders to actively participate in forging national
policies against HIV/AIDS and agreed on measures to
respond to its gender dimension.
Officials
Pave Way for WHO TB Loan (news article)
A working group of international and Russian health
officials agreed on a tuberculosis program Friday
that should pave the way for the release of a stalled
World Bank loan for fighting the infectious disease.
The approval should open the door to a $150 million
World Bank loan, which has been in limbo since 1998,
to fight TB and AIDS.
Uganda:
A Cause for Worry (news article)
A new report compiled by Uganda's Ministry of Health
says the HIV infection rate is no longer declining.
The infection rate among pregnant women was at 6.5%
at the end of 2001, compared to 6.1% in 2000. After
falling consistently for 10 years, the HIV infection
rate is taking a new trend.
AIDS
Kills More in South Africa Prisons (news article)
Roughly 41 percent of all inmates carry HIV, far above
the 20 percent adult infection rate nationwide. South
Africa's prisons have become a breeding ground for
the AIDS virus, and prisoners now represent one of
the hardest-hit segments of a country plagued by the
deadly disease.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Detection
of Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection in Early Pregnancy
Using Self-administered Vaginal Swabs and First Pass
Urines: A Cross-sectional Community-based Survey
(PubMed abstract)
A cross-sectional survey of 1216 newly pregnant women
(mean age 31 years) from 32 general practices and
five family planning clinics was conducted to find
the prevalence of chlamydial infection and to evaluate
self-administered vaginal swabs and first-pass urines
for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by ligase chain
reaction assay. Although swabs detected 10% more infections,
nearly half the women preferred providing urine specimens.
Male
Gender Predisposes to Prolongation of Pregnancy
(research abstract)
Researchers found a significant excess of male deliveries
beyond 40 weeks of gestation.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS
Breast-Fed
Babies May Need Extra Vitamin D (news article)
Babies who are breast-fed exclusively should get a
supplement of 200 units of vitamin D a day, US pediatricians
are likely to advise in the next few months. Increasing
reports of rickets in babies and toddlers prompted
nutrition experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics
to suggest the recommendation.
Combination
of HIV/Malaria Increases Complications During Pregnancy
(news article)
Women with a combined HIV/malaria infection more frequently
experience complications during pregnancy than healthy
women. This is revealed in research from Kenya. However,
to their surprise the researchers established that
HIV-infected mothers with a mild malaria infection
less frequently transmit the HIV infection to their
children than HIV-infected mothers without malaria.
Indian
Children 'Malnourished' (news article)
A study by the UN's World Food Programme in India
finds that 36% of urban children were shorter than
they should be and 38% were below their normal weight.
MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Meeting
the Sexual Health Needs of Men Who Have Sex With Men
in Senegal
(report)
This study provides important insights about the sexuality
of MSM, their risk of HIV/STIs, and the role of violence
and stigma in their lives. The findings also highlight
the lack of sexual health services and information
available to meet their particular needs.
Factors
Affecting Ever-married Men's Contraceptive Knowledge
and Use in Nigeria (research abstract)
A total of 1,451 ever-married men aged 18-55 were
interviewed in Imo and Ondo States, Nigeria. The findings
reveal that men's level of contraceptive knowledge
is high in the study areas (about 90% knew at least
one method of family planning). Furthermore, the level
of contraceptive use among married men is such that
men could participate in family planning activities
if there were adequate programmes to involve them.
Men in the sample areas were found not only to support
their spouses' use of contraceptives, but were actually
using condoms to delay or prevent pregnancy.
Effect
of a New Injectable Male Contraceptive on the Seminal
Plasma Amino Acids Studied by Proton NMR Spectroscopy
(PubMed abstract)
Using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, researchers
studied the effect of RISUG, a newly developed male
contraceptive, on various amino acids of seminal plasma
ejaculates.
MEN'S HEALTH NEWS
South
African's Jobless Choose Prostitution (news article)
Young, white South African males are turning to prostitution
as a solution to the lack of employment opportunities
in the country.
Modern
Man is No Less Fertile (news article)
Sperm counts in the average fertile Australian male
appear as healthy as ever, undermining claims of a
long-term decline in male reproductive capacity.
POPULATION RESEARCH
Greater
Than Expected Fertility Decline in Ghana: Untangling
a Puzzle (research abstract)
This study examined fertility decline that is larger
than expected on the basis of recorded increases in
contraceptive prevalence in Ghana. Evidence is presented
that couples adjust their coital frequency in accordance
with their fertility preferences, behaviour that would
influence fertility rates but would not be captured
by conventional measures of the proximate determinants
of fertility.
POPULATION NEWS
Pakistan:
Efforts Urged to Cut Population Growth (news article)
The secretary-general of the Ministry of Finance,
Moeen Afzal, has said that Pakistan cannot afford
a high population growth rate. He said that population
and reproductive health issues required a multi-sectoral
approach and that the focus of the government was
on social and economic development.
Chechnya Population
Inexplicably Swells (news article)
Given that Chechnya has suffered three years of conflict
and emigration, many here were astounded when the
results of the first census since the second Chechen
war showed that the population had undergone a miraculous
expansion.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Community
Based Intervention and Reduction of Women's Vulnerability
to STD/AIDS in Brazil (research article)
English abstract, Portuguese article. Researchers
performed a community-based intervention to develop
and evaluate a set of STD/AIDS prevention actions
targeting the vulnerability of a low-income population
of women in Monte Azul slum in the city of Sao Paulo,
Brazil. The intervention included: training of health
professionals from the local outpatient clinic, making
available male and female condoms, conducting educational
groups, and broadcasting community radio programs.
The authors report that these strategies were successful,
particularly in an increase in demand for male condoms
and an interest in the female condom.
The
Relationship among Demographics, Reproductive Characteristics,
and Intimate Partner Violence (research abstract)
The authors found that different patterns of risk
emerge between physical and verbal assault among young
women seen in a publicly funded family planning clinic.
Minority parous women with limited education, early
onset of sexual activity, and who report no contraception
use at last intercourse appear to be at highest risk
for reporting physical violence, whereas history of
sexual victimization, early sexual activity, and younger
age at first child birth elevates risk for verbal
abuse.
Determinants
of Cervical Cancer Screening in a Poor Area: Results
of a Population-based Survey in Rivas, Nicaragua
(research abstract)
The purpose of this study was to obtain baseline information
for designing a community-based intervention programme
aimed at increasing the cervical cancer screening
coverage of women most at risk. The authors found
that reluctance to be screened at some time in the
future was related to lack of knowledge of the disease,
inadequate screening status, older age, and low educational
level.
Outcomes
after Total versus Subtotal Abdominal Hysterectomy
(research abstract)
Related news article: Outcomes
Similar After Total, Partial Hysterectomy
Researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind trial
comparing total and subtotal abdominal hysterectomy
in 279 women referred for hysterectomy because of
benign disease. Neither subtotal nor total abdominal
hysterectomy adversely affected pelvic organ function
at 12 months. Subtotal abdominal hysterectomy results
in more rapid recovery and fewer short-term complications
but infrequently causes cyclical bleeding or cervical
prolapse.
Physical
Partner Abuse during Pregnancy: A Risk Factor for
Low Birth Weight in Nicaragua. (PubMed abstract)
This study assessed whether being physically abused
during pregnancy increases the risk of a low birth
weight infant. Study findings show that low birth
weight is associated with physical partner abuse even
after adjustment for age, parity, smoking, and socioeconomic
status.
Searching
for Pre-eclampsia Genes: The Current Position
(PubMed abstract)
The study provides a systematic overview on the numerous
candidate gene studies and gene-expression studies
performed to date and on the currently available genome-wide
scan data.
WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Mutilation
Mars Resettlement (news article)
Somali refugees in camps in Kenya have rushed to circumcise
their daughters, some as young as 2, after being told
the practice is illegal in the Western countries where
they hope to be resettled, such as Canada.
Diet
Rich in Soy Protein Lowers Estrogens Associated with
Breast Cancer Risk (news article)
Consuming tofu and other soy-based foods significantly
lowers levels of a class of estrogens normally associated
with breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women, according
to a new study.
New
Findings Add to Muddled Message for Effective Breast
Cancer Detection (news article)
Self-awareness is the new catchword, a change from
years of advice to rigorously practice monthly self-exams.
Though not effective in developing countries, breast
self-exams may still be a helpful tool for women at
high risk of breast cancer in countries where there
is also a program of screening mammography.
Stigma
of Breast Cancer in Developing Countries Costs Lives
(news article)
The stigma of breast cancer in developing countries,
particularly in women living in poorer communities,
is having a profound impact on treatment and survival.
YOUTH RESEARCH
Psychosocial
Determinants of Sexual Activity and Condom Use Intention
among Youth in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PubMed abstract)
In this study, determinants of sexual activity and
intentions for condom use were examined guided by
the Attitude, Social influences, and Self-efficacy
(ASE) model as a theoretical framework. The findings
of the study imply that HIV/AIDS prevention programmes
for young people in Ethiopia need to emphasize building
assertive communication skills in sexual negotiations
and condom use. Minimizing the gender gap in sexual
relationships forms the cornerstone for such educational
strategies.
YOUTH NEWS
South
Africa: Today's Virgins, Tomorrow's AIDS Victims
(news article)
Most South African teenagers have sex for the first
time at the age of 14 or 15 and half of all today's
15-year-olds in South Africa and Zimbabwe will eventually
die of AIDS.
Safety
of Early Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa is a Faulty
Presumption (feature article)
Though many parents in sub-Saharan Africa believe
early marriage will shield their adolescent daughters
from the HIV/AIDS epidemic there, Shelley Clark, Assistant
Professor in the Harris Graduate School of Public
Policy Studies, has done research that suggests the
opposite may be true.
Malawi:
Youths Shun STD Treatment (news article)
Youths have poor reception at country hospitals especially
when they seek medical attention for STD pregnancies
and HIV opportunistic diseases.
US:
As Teens' Prospects Rise, Pregnancies Fall (feature
article)
Adolescents are having less sex, in part because a
few programs are looking to develop students' potential.
Most
Chinese Support Youth Sex Education: Survey (news
article)
A survey showed that 89.2 percent of urban dwellers
and 74.6 percent of rural residents in China agree
that sex education should be conducted in middle schools.
BOOKS / BOOK REVIEWS
'Unanswered
Cries' Helps Us to Find Our Bearings (book reivew)
'Unanswered Cries' is the story of Olabisi, a fourteen-year-old
girl who has come from Freetown where she lives with
her single but dating dad, to spend holidays with
her mother in the village. The mother, Makalay, has
married another man, both of them pro-tradition, who
also believe in the abhorrent practice of female genital
mutilation.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
IPPF
Hormonal Contraceptive Database (resource material)
This is the first electronic edition of the IPPF Directory
of Hormonal Contraceptives, listing contraceptives
by brand, composition, country, manufacturer and type.
Hormonal contraceptives with more than 50 mcg of oestrogen
have been excluded since they are no longer recommended
for continuous use. The database is available in English,
Spanish, and French.
The
Origins and Evolution of Family Planning Programs
in Developing Countries (report)
Despite widespread acceptance, family planning programs
have been controversial since their inception. This
report examines the origins of family planning programs
and the criticisms they have faced during four decades
of existence. It also assesses the validity of these
criticisms and analyzes programs' responses to them
and to lessons learned from research on effectiveness
and quality.
Behavior
Change Communication (BCC) for HIV/AIDS: A Strategic
Framework
(resource material)
This document outlines Family Health International's
Behavior Change Communication strategy for HIV/AIDS.
It was developed for use by donors, partners, collaborators
and potential collaborators.
Voluntary
Counseling and Testing (VCT) and Young People: A Summary
Overview
(resource material)
This summary provides an overview of evidence-based
data, current experiences, lessons learned, issues
for consideration, strategies and recommendations
for creating an effective framework for VCT services
for young people. It is designed to be used by program
planners; organizations providing services to young
people or intending to strengthen their existing services
by catering to youth populations; staff within government
ministries including ministries of health, ministries
of youth and ministries of education; and current
and potential donors.
Gender
and HIV/AIDS: Cutting Edge Pack (resource material)
This online pack is made up of three resources that
explore the relationships between gender and HIV/AIDS.
The first document offers an overview of gender and
HIV/AIDS. The second document in the pack collates
key resources on gender and HIV/AIDS. The final part
of the pack is an issue of the BRIDE update on gender
and HIV/AIDS, which provides an overview of the issues,
case studies of women living with HIV, and of young
men in Brazil.
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