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Volume 2, Number 19
13 May 2002
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
UN Children's Forum Agrees on Global
Goals (news article)
A UN children's summit agreed last Friday on goals
to improve young people's lives in the next decade,
overcoming objections by the United States and Islamic
nations on family planning and the death penalty.
African Children Ask Their Leaders:
Why the Debt, Why the Wars, Why the Poverty?
(news article)
In a rare dialogue between African leaders and African
children on the second day of the UN children's summit
last Thursday, the children had sharp words for their
leaders.
South
Africa: Government HIV/AIDS Policy Gains Momentum
(news article)
Deputy President Jacob Zuma will this weekend engage
in a number of activities to take government's fight
against HIV/AIDS forward. According to a statement
from the Presidency, the activities are aimed at promoting
care and support for those infected and affected by
the deadly disease.
China:
National Committee Set up to Fight AIDS (news
article)
The Vice Minister of Health last week said that strategies
for controlling HIV/AIDS in China are being developed.
He told a seminar on investment in Asia's health in
Shanghai that the State Council has already set up
a national committee with members from 26 ministries
and commissions to work together for the control of
HIV/AIDS in China.
Nepal Court Judgment on Marital Rape
Hailed by Rights Groups (news article)
A Nepal court judgment last week which ruled that
marital sex without a wife's consent should be considered
rape is being hailed by human and women's rights activists
as a "big victory" for the women of the
Himalayan kingdom.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
Quality
of Care in Family Planning Clinics in Jamaica. Do
Clients and Providers Agree? (PubMed abstract)
Researchers used data from 199 providers and 20 simulated
clients collected at 50 public sector and NGO health
facilities islandwide to compare the two groups' views
on quality of care of family planning services. They
found that the requirement that a woman must be menstruating
to receive services inadvertently resulted in many
clients going away empty-handed (without counselling
or condoms) when they visit clinics. All of the providers
would recommend these clinics to others, compared
to a little over half of the simulated clients.
Decreasing
STD Incidence and Increasing Condom Use Among Chinese
Sex Workers Following a Short Term Intervention: A
Prospective Cohort Study (research abstract)
In this prospective cohort study of 966 sex workers
(the first of its kind in China), the authors evaluated
trends in condom use, knowledge about HIV transmission
and condom use, and STD incidences. The proportion
of consistent condom use increased during the course
of the study, as did knowledge on HIV transmission
and condom use. The incidence of gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis,
and chlamydia decreased over each follow-up visit.
Access
as a Factor in Differential Contraceptive Use Between
Mayans and Ladinos in Guatemala (research abstract)
Researchers tested their hypothesis that one group
of women (Mayans) used contraceptives less than their
counterparts (ladinos) because of limited supply (not
social, economic, and cultural differences between
the groups). The authors note that, while the family
planning supply environment differed little between
the two groups, proximity may not be the determining
factor in contraceptive use because less than 8% of
users got their (last) contraceptive from the nearest.
Nonoxynol-9
Spermicide Contraception Use - United States, 1999
(research summary)
Researchers conclude: N-9 alone is not an effective
means to prevent infection with HIV or cervical gonorrhea
and chlamydia. Providers of family planning services
should inform women at risk for HIV/STDs that N-9
contraceptives do not protect against these infections.
In addition, women seeking a family planning method
should be informed that latex condoms, when used consistently
and correctly, are effective in preventing transmission
of HIV and can reduce the risk for other STDs.
Related News Article: CDC Warns
Spermicides Can't Prevent STDs
Condom Use Linked to Risk of Preeclampsia
(news article)
Women who are not exposed to a partner's sperm prior
to pregnancy because the couple used condoms may be
at increased risk for developing pregnancy-induced
high blood pressure.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
Birth Control Pill Reduces Periods
to Four a Year (news article)
An oral contraceptive that results in just four menstrual
periods a year is as effective as standard pill regimens
that yield monthly periods, preliminary findings suggest.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
Tanzanian
Men More Likely Than Women to Infect Partner (research
summary)
Among HIV-discordant couples living in the Mwanza
region of Tanzania, seropositive men are more than
twice as likely to infect a seronegative female sex
partner than an infected woman is to infect her male
partner.
Clinical
Signs and Symptoms in the Assessment of Immunodeficiency
in Men with Subtype C HIV Infection in Harare, Zimbabwe
(research article)
Researchers test a new self-scoring system to aid
in the prediction of low CD4 cell counts. Physicians
can correctly identify 72% of patients who do not
require immediate intervention, thereby channeling
scarce resources to those who have both low CD4+ cell
counts and symptoms and are most likely to benefit
from prophylactic and antiretroviral interventions.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
Youngest Crucial to anti-HIV Efforts
(news article)
Global efforts to fight HIV and AIDS must focus on
children, the chief of the United Nations' office
on the disease told world leaders Friday on the final
day of the UN Special Session on Children.
Asia
Must End Silence To Head Off Explosion, U.N. Experts
Warn (news article)
Asian countries such as China and India must initiate
public dialogue about HIV/AIDS to avoid an African-style
epidemic, two U.N. experts cautioned last week at
the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting in Shanghai.
Chicago
Researchers Testing HIV Vaccine for Healthy People
(press release)
Infectious disease researchers at Rush-Presbyterian-St.
Luke's Medical Center in Chicago have embarked on
a search to find a vaccine to prevent people from
contracting HIV. Rush is recruiting patients for a
Phase I clinical trial to test the safety of an HIV
vaccine that has potential to protect healthy people
against the disease.This is one of two types of vaccines
being tested around the world.
World
Bank Says Disease Threatens Education Goals (news
article)
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is killing teachers faster than
countries can train them, putting in jeopardy the
goals of the Education for All campaign to get all
children into primary school by 2015, the World Bank
said last week.
IAVI,
Swedish Firm Cooperate On Vaccine Research (news
article)
Swedish biotechnology firm Bioption AB and the International
AIDS Vaccine Initiative announced a partnership to
develop and test new HIV/AIDS vaccines to target HIV
subtypes common in developing countries, where most
new infections take place. Early experiments on nonhuman
primates have been promising.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Perinatal
Mortality in Viet Nam
(research article)
This article presents the results of a survey conducted
in seven provinces in Viet Nam. The rate of perinatal
mortality was 23 per thousand (this compares with
53 per thousand for the world). The authors identify
two sets of factors (one having to do with family
planning and the other with the quality of care given
to pregnent women) associated with perinatal mortality
and subject to government interventions.
MEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Annual HIV Tests Urged for Gay Men
(news article)
Sexually active gay and bisexual men should get tested
at least once a year for the AIDS virus, the US government
said in a new recommendation aimed at heading off
a feared surge of infections. The new guidelines from
the CDC mark the first time the US government has
made such a recommendation.
POPULATION NEWS
China
Sees a High Gender Ratio of Newborns (news article)
The fifth census in China indicates that the sex proportion
of the newborn boys and girls in the country is 116.86
percent in 2000. The department of population and
social science of the State Statistics Administration
is of the opinion that the high tendency in sex proportion
of newborn boys and girls is still a problem in China.
Turkish Census Counted 3.6 Million
Fake People (news article)
Local authorities seeking to boost their budgets resulted
in Turkey counting at least 3.65 million non-existent
people in a national census in 2000.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
Reasons
for Not Using Condoms Among Female Sex Workers in
Indonesia (PubMed abstract)
A sample of 204 female sex workers was studied: 53%
of sexual intercourses were reported to be protected,
and 12% of these protected intercourses were preceded
by clients' argumentation against it. Only 5.8% of
sex workers consistently used condoms for a 2-week
period of observation. The main reasons female sex
workers did not use condoms were the beliefs that
boyfriends, native Indonesians, and healthy-looking
clients cannot spread STDs. Another reason stated
was that sex workers had already taken other preventive
measures, like taking antibiotics.
WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS
UN
Looks at Trade of Women in Peacekeeping Areas
(news article)
The trafficking of women in areas where peacekeeping
missions are in operation was one of the main agenda
items at a two-day conference of the UN Interregional
Crime and Justice Research Institute last week at
the Turin, Italy, institute.
Number of Sex Partners Key in Cervical
Cancer Risk (news article)
The number of sexual partners a woman has had may
be a key factor that helps doctors determine whether
precancerous cervical changes should simply be closely
watched or surgically treated. The new study findings,
presented at the annual meeting of the American College
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, found that women
who have had more than five partners are at increased
risk of cervical abnormalities progressing to cancer.
Test for Ovarian, Uterine Cancers
Promising (news article)
An experimental blood test may one day help doctors
detect ovarian and uterine cancers at earlier, more
treatable stages than is currently possible, preliminary
research suggests.
Morning-after Pill Not Offered in
Many US Rape Cases (news article)
Just one in three US hospitals routinely offer emergency
contraception--the so-called morning-after pill--to
sexually assaulted women, according to a study released
last week at the annual meeting of the American College
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Medical staff
members at 1 in 10 hospitals never discuss emergency
contraception at all with assaulted patients, the
survey of 125 emergency departments showed.
YOUTH NEWS
US:
Delegation Rebuts Criticism Of Position On Special
Session Document (news article)
The US delegation to the UN General Assembly's special
session on children said last week that the United
States is not opposed to passages relating to reproductive
health in the session's outcome document as long as
they remain consistent with previously agreed to language.
Adolescents
Need Access to Reproductive Health Information and
Services, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid Stresses
(press release)
It is crucial that the United Nations General Assembly
Special Session on Children reaffirm governments'
commitment to ensure that young people have access
to youth-friendly reproductive health information
and services, according to Thoraya Obaid, Executive
Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Ghana:
Students Don't Know Much About Condom Use (news
article)
A symposium on HIV/AIDS at the University of Ghana,
Legon, last week exposed the lack of knowledge about
the use of condoms and HIV/AIDS among students.
Malawi:
Venereal Diseases Flourish Amongst Bored Youths
(news article)
Youthful boredom is keeping Malawi NGOs frantically
busy in the battle against the spread of STDs and
HIV/AIDS.
South
Africa: Vaccine Offers New Hope for HIV Children
(news article)
New hope tor protecting HIV-positive children from
pneumonia is offered by a vaccine that reduces pneumococcal
bacteria in HIV-positive children by more than 50%.
The tests, involving 40 000 children in Soweto, found
that the vaccine reduced by more than half the incidence
of invasive pneumococcal disease.
BOOKS / BOOK REVIEWS
Community-Based
Health Care: Lessons from Bangladesh to Boston
This new book brings together important current thinking
about this crucial topic. Seasoned public health professionals
from around the world share their experiences and
formulate principles about what has worked in many
countries, including Bangladesh, Haiti, and the United
States.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines:
2002 - HTML
| PDF
These guidelines for the treatment of patients who
have STDs were developed by the CDC after consultation
with a group of professionals knowledgeable in the
field of STDs. Included in these updated guidelines
are new alternative regimens for scabies, bacterial
vaginosis, early syphilis, and granuloma inguinale;
an expanded section on the diagnosis of genital herpes
(including type-specific serologic tests); new recommendations
for treatment of recurrent genital herpes among persons
infected with HIV; a revised approach to the management
of victims of sexual assault; expanded regimens for
the treatment of urethral meatal warts; and inclusion
of hepatitis C as a sexually transmitted infection.
UNFPA
Promoting Reproductive Health (Saving Women's Lives)
Fact Sheets
This Web page provides overviews, challenges, and
UNFPA action activities on the following topics (files
are available in both HTML and PDF formats):
- Addressing Obstetric Fistulas
- Responding to Emergency Situations
- Preventing HIV/AIDS
- Providing Reproductive Health Essentials
How
Much is Enough? Estimating Requirements for Subsidized
Contraceptives: Results from a Ten-country Analysis
(USAID report)
Broadening
Commercial Sector Participation in Reproductive Health:
The Role of Public Sector Prices on Markets for Oral
Contraceptives
(USAID report)
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