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Volume 2, Number 12
25 March 2002
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
UK
Supermarkets to Provide Emergency Contraception (news article)
Two supermarkets in England will provide teens with free emergency
contraception as part of a program launch.
Chinese
Man Sues Wife Over Abortion (news article)
This is the first time a man has sued his wife over his right to
be a father since China's parliament, the National People's Congress,
approved the family planning law, ruling that a woman had no overriding
priority over her spouse in deciding whether to have a child.
US: Women Tout Contraception Bill (news
article)
Women's advocates urge the US Congress to pass a bill that would
require hospitals receiving federal funds to ensure that sexual
assault victims are told about emergency contraception.
South Africa's African National Congress Says
AIDS Ruling 'Defies Logic' (news article)
South Africa's ruling party releases a policy statement that courts
should not determine health policy in response to a court order
that forces the government to provide nevirapine to HIV-positive
women.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
Contraceptive
Methods and Adequacy of Oral Contraceptive Use in the City of Pelotas,
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: 1992-1999 (research abstract)
This paper found that 65% of women used a contraceptive method in
the following order: oral contraceptives (55.4%), surgical sterilization
(22.2%), condoms (10.5%), and IUD (7.7%). They also noted a reduction
inthe use of oral contraceptives from a similar 1992 study.
Culture,
Identity and Reproductive Failure in Zimbabwe 
(research article)
This article examines the perspectives of men and women in Zimbabwe
who believed they were potential reproductive failures by not having
the socially expected numbers and types of children.
One Step at a Time - Estimating STI Cure Rates
(research synopsis)
A study in Mwanza, Tanzania found that syndromic management of common
bacterial sexually transmitted infections (gonorrhoea, chlamydial
infection, syphilis and chancroid) in a health clinic had poor cure
rates.
Condom
Effectiveness in Reducing Heterosexual HIV Transmission (Cochrane
Review) (research abstract)
Condom effectiveness was determined by pooling data for 14 studies
of consistent condom users. Information on the correctness of condom
use was not available for most studies. This analysis estimates
that the overall effectiveness of condoms in reducing HIV transmission
is approximately 80% as commonly used.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
Condoms
Flavored With Musk Ox, Char and Caribou Hit of Arctic Games
(news article)
Collectable condoms highlight reproductive health issues.
HPV
Often Contracted at First Sexual Intercourse (news article)
Among women at risk for cervical HPV infection, half of the women's
infections were detected within three months after their first sexual
encounter.
China:
Condom Industry Rises to Challenge (news article)
UN places orders with Chinese condom manufacturers as a result of
improved condom quality.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
The
Estimated Magnitude of AIDS in Brazil: A Delay Correction Applied
to Cases with Lost Date (research article)
This paper estimates that the AIDS epidemic in Brazil was 20% to
30% greater than known from the available information as of February
1999.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
UN Says HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Ethiopia Worsening
(news article)
A senior UN official reported that Ethiopia has passed the 5% threshold
prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS.
Initiative
to Promote Access to Quality HIV Medicines Releases First Batch
of Results (press release)
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the first list of
products found to meet WHO recommended standards. This initial phase
of the project includes 40 products from 8 branded and generic manufacturers.
Related News Article: Drug
Companies Oppose U.N. Approval of Generics
A group of pharmaceutical companies criticized the inclusion of
generic drugs on a newly issued WHO list of approved HIV/AIDS medicine,
arguing that the cheaper drugs could lower treatment quality and
even lead to drug-resistant strains.
Thailand
to Launch Dollar-a-day Anti-AIDS Cocktail (news article)
Thai health authorities will begin selling the world's cheapest
anti-AIDS drug early next month for less than a dollar a day.
HIV/AIDS
in Africa: Rethinking Current Strategies (news article/analysis)
This analysis reviews current strategies in place for fighting HIV
in Africa, and calls for additional African nation commitment, citing
that unique African challenges require unique African remedial strategies.
Tanzania:
Clerics' Condom Stand at Odds with National Policy (news article)
More than 70 representatives of various religious organizations
declared that "all holy books" were against the use of
condoms, and that they would, therefore, discourage their followers
from using condoms.
UNIFEM Launches Initiative to Make Women Central
to Reducing the Spread of HIV/AIDS (press release)
UNIFEM launches a 3-year program to put the gender and human rights
dimensions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic at the center of strategies
and policies in Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, India,
Cambodia, Thailand, Barbados and Brazil.
Growth of India's HIV-Positive Population Slows
(news article)
Surveillance estimates that the number of HIV-positive people in
India grew by 110,000 in 2001, fewer than the estimated 160,000
new infections in 2000.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Integrating
HIV Prevention and Care into Maternal and Child Health Care Settings:
Lessons Learned from Horizons Studies 
(research report)
This report summarizes discussions on the integration of HIV-related
care into maternal and child health care settings, experiences to
date in integrating these services, and practical strategies for
improving such integration. Country programs include Kenya, Zambia,
Uganda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Vaccine-Associated
Paralytic Poliomyelitis in India During 1999: Decreased Risk Despite
Massive Use of Oral Polio Vaccine
(research article)
Vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis risk is lower among children
receiving polio immunizations in India than in other countries.
Neonatal Herpes
Simplex Virus Infections (research article)
An overview of diagnosing and treating infants with herpes simplex
virus infections, including clinical presentations of the virus,
complications, and ways to reduce risk of neonatal infection.
Birth
Weight Patterns in Rural Undernourished Pregnant Women (research
article)
Pregnant undernourished women in rural Varanasi, India are at higher
risk for lowbirth weight infants than their healthy counterparts.
Low birth weight accounted for 27.4% births and preterm births for
6.6% births.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS
Mexico,
Guatemala Launch Plans to Reduce Maternal Mortality (news article)
East
Timor: Midwives Needed to Cut Maternal Mortality, WHO Says (news
article)
MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
A
Population-Based Study Of Daily Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug
Use And Prostate Cancer
(research article)
Findings in this study suggest that daily use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs may be associated with a lower incidence of prostate cancer
in men aged 60 years or older.
Related News Article: Aspirin
Protects Men Over 60 from Prostate Cancer
MEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Men's Reproductive Health Care Gets New Emphasis
(news article)
POPULATION RESEARCH
The
Contemporary Population Challenge
(research report)
The
Impact of HIV 1 on Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa: Causes and Consequence
(research report)
HIV has multiple impacts on fertility, which work in both increasing
and decreasing fertility. This paper analyzes the effects of HIV
infection on biological, behavioral, and other aspects that influence
fertility levels.
POPULATION NEWS
Deaths Outstrip Births in Russia (news article)
Deaths in Russia outnumber births, the country's health minister
said, blaming heavy smoking and alcohol abuse for low life expectancy
rates. The death rate surpasses the birth rate by 70 percent.
Future
World Population Growth to be Concentrated in Urban Areas of World
(press release)
Virtually all the population growth expected during the next 30
years will be concentrated in urban areas.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Managing
Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS): Human
Papillomavirus Testing, ASCUS Subtyping, or Follow-Up Cytology?
(research abstract)
A human papillomavirus detection system based on polymerase chain
reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism identifies a smaller
percentage of high-risk human papillomaviruses than mixed probe-based
methods.
Prophylactic Oophorectomy: Perspective: Should
We Remove a Woman's Ovaries to Prevent Ovarian Cancer? (research
article)
Evaluating whether a woman should elect to have her ovaries removed
to prevent ovarian cancer is a complex issue. Risks and benefits
that must be weighed include the risk of ovarian cancer in the population
in the absence of surgery, its efficacy in preventing ovarian cancer,
and alternatives such as opportunities for screening and early detection.
The effectiveness of treatment, should ovarian cancer develop, also
must be considered.
Oestrogen Protects FKBP12.6 Null Mice from Cardiac
Hypertrophy
(research letter)
Related News Article: Estrogen May Protect Against
Form of Heart Damage (news story)
Estrogen appears to protect female mice from heart enlargement even
when they have a genetic defect that impairs the muscle's normal
functioning.
The
VALUE National Hysterectomy Study: Description of the Patients and
Their Surgery
(research article)
Related News Article: Many Hysterectomies Unnecessary,
UK Study Shows (news story)
Half to three-quarters of the hysterectomies in the UK over one
year could have been treated with a less radical procedure, according
to researchers.
WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS
UNFPA
Executive Director Asks Monterrey Conferees to Invest More in Women
(news article)
Empowering
Young Women in Bangladesh (project report)
Reporter's
Notebook: Female Circumcision in Africa (news article)
Breast Cancer Vaccine Trial Starts in UK, Denmark
(news article)
While this phase of the clinical trial will primarily test the safety
of the vaccine, outcomes may also provide the ability to make a
preliminary evaluation of the vaccine's ability to raise an immune
response.
YOUTH RESEARCH
Correlates
of HIV Risk among Ecuadorian Adolescents (PubMed abstract)
This paper reports the following strong links with decreased HIV
risk among Ecuadorian high school students: educational aspirations
past high school, living in an urban area, high self-efficacy for
condom use, and strong refusal skills to unsafe sex.
Understanding
gender differences in condom use self-efficacy among youth in urban
Cameroon(PubMed abstract)
Young women are less likely than young men to know correct condom
use and are more likely to be shy about buying condoms. Factors
affecting perceived ability to correctly use condoms and shyness
about buying condoms include prior experience buying and using condoms,
parental support, and condom promotion.
YOUTH NEWS
30,000 Teen Prostitutes in Kenya (news article)
Family
Planning Council Calls for Safe Reproductive Health, Safe Sex Among
Youth (news article)
Zimbabwean youth are being trained to promote information about
sex skills to other youth in a two-week training workshop.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
Delivering
the Goods: HIV Treatment for the Poor (research reports and
analysis)
This series of articles addresses the challenges faced by programs
in HIV treatment of the poor in such countries as Thailand, South
Africa, Brazil, Haiti, and Kenya.
Reproducing
Stereotypes? Involving Men in Reproductive Healthcare Programmes
(research analysis)
Should reproductive health care programmes make more efforts to
include men? Efforts to involve men are often based on perceptions
of men as bad fathers or as sexually irresponsible. How best can
such negative stereotypes about men's behaviour be overcome?
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