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Volume 2, Number 36
9 September 2002
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAW AND POLICY
Development
Summit Reaffirms Global Commitment to Women's Health
and Rights (press release)
The United Nations Population Fund welcomed world
leaders' reaffirmation of goals linking poverty eradication
and environmental protection to health, including
reproductive health and women's empowerment.
Missing Chinese AIDS
Worker Being Held by Secret Police, Says Friend, Activists
(news article)
A prominent Chinese AIDS activist who disappeared
last month has been secretly detained on suspicion
of leaking state secrets for releasing a government
report on the spread of AIDS, a friend of the man
reports.
Oral
Contraceptives, Venous Thromboembolism, and the Courts
(editorial)
A professor, commenting on the recently completed
trial in the English High Court where action was brought
against three pharmaceutical companies by women who
believed they had been harmed by third generation
oral contraceptives, raises questions about the ability
of the judicial process to help us reach sensible
conclusions.
Kenya:
Female Circumcision Still Rife in 61 Districts
(news article)
More than 2,000 under-age girls in Gucha District
are still being subjected to female genital mutilation
every year. This is despite the enactment of the Children's
Act 6 months ago, outlawing the practice.
The
Case of Female Genital Mutilation (editorial)
The practice of female genital mutiliation (FGM) is
almost wholly gender-specific: women do virtually
all the cutting, and most women approve and support
the cutting ritual and everything for which it stands.
Within what legal, ethical, and sociological contexts
are current debates on FGM taking place?
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH
Long-Term
Use of Contraceptive Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate
in Young Women Impairs Arterial Endothelial Function
Assessed by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
(research abstract)
Related news article: Heart
Worry For Pill Jab Women
Women who are given long-lasting contraceptive injections
of Depo-Provera may suffer physical changes that increase
their risk of heart disease. The drug may, if taken
over a longer period, restrict the ability of the
body's arteries to contract and expand.
FAMILY PLANNING / REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS
Contraceptive
Patch Gets EU Go-ahead (news article)
A contraceptive patch has been approved for use across
Europe.
Gonorrhea
Test Kits Recalled by Abbott Laboratories (press
release)
Thirty-two lots of laboratory test kits used to diagnose
gonorrhea have been recalled by the kits' maker because
the tests may give false negative results, according
to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Summit
Told of 'Long Line' Rape Weapon (news article)
Graphic descriptions of "long line" or gang
rape in ethnically war-torn Solomon Islands have been
unveiled at a Pacific AIDS conference.
New
Pill to Shake Up Viagra (news article)
Men suffering erectile dysfunction could soon have
access to a new, beefed-up "party pill"
- one that lasts up to nine times as long as Viagra.
HIV / AIDS RESEARCH
Herpes
Simplex Virus Type II Infection Is a Risk Factor for
HIV Seroconversion 
(policy brief)
Related press release: Does
Having Herpes (HSV-2) Increase Your Chances of Being
Infected With HIV?
Herpes simplex virus type II (HSV-2) is the most common
cause of genital ulcer disease worldwide. By damaging
the epithelial barrier and causing inflammation, it
may increase the risk of HIV-1 transmission.
Susceptibility
to Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infection of Human
Foreskin and Cervical Tissue Grown in Explant Culture
(research abstract)
Related news article: Chicago
Researchers Find Why Uncircumcised Men Have More HIV
Foreskins from eight pediatric and six adult patients
with and without histories of sexually transmitted
disease were evaluated as well as six cervical biopsies
from HIV-1-seronegative women which served as controls.
Internal mucosal layers of foreskin were more susceptible
to HIV infection than cervical tissue or the external
layers of foreskin. The researchers conclude that
circumcision likely reduces risk of HIV-1 acquisition
in men by decreasing HIV-1 target cells.
Recruiting
Volunteers for a Multisite Phase I/II HIV Preventive
Vaccine Trial in Thailand (PubMed abstract)
Factors believed to be predictive of retention through
the recruitment and screening processes for preventive
HIV trials were investigated in a large multi-site
phase I/II HIV vaccine trial in Thailand. The data
suggested that recruitment proceeded in a stepwise
manner with different influences at each step and
that motivation for trials is more complex than has
been previously acknowledged.
HIV / AIDS NEWS
Case of HIV 'Superinfection'
Reported (news article)
Doctors in Europe are reporting what they say is the
first proven case of HIV superinfection, in which
an already HIV-positive person becomes infected again
with a different strain of the virus.
China
Denies Plans to Make AIDS Drugs That Violate Foreign
Patents (news article)
China's Health Ministry denied news reports that it
is considering producing generic AIDS medications
in violation of foreign patents, but said it wants
deeper discounts for imported drugs.
AIDS
Debate Fails to Hit Target at Development Summit
(news article)
Among the issues that were continually struggling
to find a more prominent place on the agenda of the
World Summit on Sustainable Development was HIV/AIDS,
but according to Dr Peter Piot, head of the joint
UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), people simply forgot
about it.
China, with One
Million HIV Cases, Warns of Ten-fold Increase
(news article)
China has around a million people infected with the
HIV virus, a figure that could increase ten-fold by
the end of the decade, a top government health official
warned.
Central
African Republic: Journalists Trained as HIV/AIDS
Educators (news article)
Fifty radio and television reporters are receiving
training on HIV/AIDS and the techniques of educating
the population in the Central African Republic.
Condom
Festival in Southern India to Fight Spread of AIDS
Virus (news article)
A condom festival was launched in the southern Indian
state of Andhra Pradesh as part of an HIV/AIDS prevention
program.
"Explosive"
HIV Spread Among IDUs in Russian City (news article)
Testing of 418 injection drug users (IDU) in Togliatti
City, Russia, showed that 56% have HIV infection.
Three quarters of those found to have HIV did not
know they were infected.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH
Polio
Eradication: Global Initiative; Strategy Challenged
in Kerala, India (research abstract)
The 'polio eradication initiative' launched by the
World Health Assembly in 1988, although successfully
implemented in several countries, could not achieve
the goal of global eradication by the year 2000. It
has components on strengthening routine immunization
system, observance of National Immunization Days (NIDs)
and strengthening of surveillance for Acute Flaccid
Paralysis (AFP). Recently, this strategy was challenged
in Kerala, India.
Uterine
Rupture: What Family Physicians Need to Know (research
article)
Uterine rupture occurs in approximately one of every
67 to 500 US women undergoing labor for vaginal birth
after cesarean section. Rupture poses serious risks
to mother and infant. Prevention of poor outcomes
depends on thorough anticipation and preparation.
The physicians and the delivery institution should
be prepared to provide emergency surgical and neonatal
care in the event of uterine rupture.
Hidden
Suffering: Disabilities From Pregnancy and Childbirth
in Less Developed Countries
(policy brief)
Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are a leading
cause of death and disability among women of reproductive
age (ages 15 to 44) in less developed countries. These
disabilities are almost entirely preventable. In addition
to affecting the health and productivity of women,
these disabilities are also strongly associated with
infant deaths and poor health and development in children
and adversely affect family income and well-being.
Reducing women's disabilities, therefore, is as important
for alleviating poverty as it is for reducing needless
suffering.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS
Sex of Fetus May
Influence Pregnancy Complications (news article)
Pregnant women who are carrying a male fetus and who
develop high blood pressure tend to have higher levels
of certain hormones than those with normal
blood pressure, according to new research findings.
Burundi:
Breast-feeding Week Observed (news article)
Breast-feeding week was observed in Burundi, aimed
at educating women towards exclusively breast-feeding
their offspring for at least 6 months after birth
in order to strengthen their immune systems. The proportion
of mothers breast-feeding their babies in Burundi
has dropped in recent years from 85-90 percent to
70 percent, due mainly to the adoption of Western
attitudes.
Extra Folic Acid
Cuts Birth Defect Rate (news article)
Fortifying the food supply in Canada with folic acid
and educating women about the benefits of the B vitamin
in preventing neural tube defects has reduced the
rate of these birth defects in Canada, according to
the results of two studies.
MEN'S HEALTH NEWS
Condoms Urged for
Male Prisoners (news article)
Male prisoners who have sex with men face a high risk
of contracting and spreading the sexually transmitted
disease syphilis, and are also likely to be infected
with HIV, a study in one California prison shows.
Prison
Rape: It's No Joke (editorial)
While often the subject of jokes on late-night TV,
prison rape is no laughing matter. It has terrible
consequences, not just for the inmates who are brutalized,
but for our communities as well. The rate of HIV in
prisons today is 10 times higher than in the general
population. Every rape in prison can turn a sentence
for a nonviolent crime into a death sentence.
Low-Fat
Diet Doesn't Help Prostate (news article)
September is prostate cancer awareness month and results
of a new study shed light on what makes up a prostate-healthy
diet. Preliminary studies suggested that a low-fat
diet can help ward off prostate cancer. But results
of a new, stronger study show no evidence of this,
at least not in the short term.
College Men May
Need Course in Condom Use (news article)
Many college age men may not be using condoms correctly,
according to a small study conducted at one US university.
In a survey of 158 heterosexual males who used a condom
in the previous 3 months, 30 percent said they had
initially put the condom on upside down and had to
flip it over. Forty percent said they did not leave
space at the tip of the condom after they put it on,
a technique that reduces the risk of breakage.
Researchers
Study Healthy Sperm (news article)
Researchers have determined the genetic fingerprint
of healthy human sperm - an advance that could be
a major step forward in understanding male infertility.
The discovery could also lead to new types of male
contraceptives.
Impotence from Beta-blockers
Partly Psychological (news article)
Problems with erectile dysfunction (ED) among men
given beta-blocker drugs may in part be psychological
and related to a general knowledge that the drugs
are associated with such difficulties.
POPULATION RESEARCH
Making
the Link: Population, Health, Environment
(datasheet)
The number of people on Earth, where they live, and
how they live all affect the condition of the environment,
according to the authors of this new data sheet. This
publication includes data on thirteen demographic,
health, and environment indicators for 123 countries,
six world regions, and the world as a whole. Accompanying
text and graphics highlight trends in urbanization,
population momentum, consumption levels, carbon dioxide
emissions, changes in land use, and declining availability
of fresh water.
POPULATION NEWS
Tibetans
See Fastest Population Growth in History (news
article)
The population of Tibet has now reached 2.615 million.
Japan:
Town Tries Arranged Marriages to Reverse Population
Decline (news article)
Aji, a small town in western Japan, has taken the
step of organizing "omiai," or introductions
for prospective marriage partners, for its residents
to deal with a dwindling population. Renowned for
producing fine stones, Aji has a population of about
6,700, but one-fourth are aged over 65. Young people
are leaving the town because there are few attractive
jobs or places to live. As a result, the marriage
and birthrates have been decreasing year by year.
Pakistan:
Many Barriers in the Way of Population Control
(news article)
Behavior changes, stringent vigilance on the dispensation
of available resources, and sound public/private partnerships
were identified as the key requirements to attain
the targets set under the First National Population
Policy of the country.
In
Reversal, Many Nations Recording Falling Birthrates
(news article)
In a trend that experts are just beginning to understand,
birthrates in many developing countries are shrinking
to the point that some demographers are shelving long-held
views that a population boom would push the global
community to up to 10.5 billion people by the end
of this century.
WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH
The
Canadian National Breast Screening Study-1: Breast
Cancer Mortality after 11 to 16 Years of Follow-up
A Randomized Screening Trial of Mammography in Women
Age 40 to 49 Years (research article)
Related news article: Canadian
Study Shows Little Benefit of Mammography for Women
Under 50
Mammograms are an effective tool for detecting breast
cancer in women age 50 and older. But women in their
40s do not often get the disease. So doctors have
been divided in recent years about the value of giving
the breast x-ray screening test to younger women.
Canadian researchers say that mammograms for women
in their forties may do more harm than good
Abnormal
Uterine Bleeding during Progestin-Only Contraception
May Result from Free Radical-Induced Alterations in
Angiopoietin Expression (research abstract)
Findings in this study suggest that long-term progestin-only
contraceptive-induced endometrial bleeding occurs
as a result of hypoxia/reperfusion-induced free radicals
that directly damage vessels and alter the balance
of Ang-1 and Ang-2 to produce the characteristic enlarged
and permeable vessels that are prone to bleeding.
The
Brn-3a transcription factor inhibits the pro-apoptotic
effect of p53 and enhances cell cycle arrest by differentially
regulating the activity of the p53 target genes encoding Bax and p21(CIP1/Waf1) (research
abstract)
Related news article: New Technique
Tested Against Cervical Cancer
British scientists have devised a new technique that
kills cervical cancer cells without harming healthy
ones, which could improve treatment for the
deadly disease.
WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS
World Summit Adopts
11th-hour Language Linking Women's Health Care With
Human Rights (news article)
Negotiators at the World Summit restored language
early Tuesday linking women's health care with human
rights to the meeting's final plan, eliminating a
sticking point in 11th-hour deliberations.
Rome
Honours Sharia Convict (news article)
A woman who faced death by stoning in terms of Nigerian
sharia law is to be made an honorary citizen of Rome.
YOUTH RESEARCH
Decline
in Physical Activity in Black Girls and White Girls
during Adolescence (research abstract)
Substantial declines in physical activity occur during
adolescence in girls and are greater in black girls
than in white girls. Some determinants of this decline,
such as higher body-mass index, pregnancy, and smoking,
may be modifiable.
Mothers'
Influence on Teen Sex: Connections That Promote Postponing
Sexual Intercourse
(monograph)
Related press release: Closeness
to Mom Can Delay First Sex Among Younger Teens, According
to Largest-ever Survey of U.s. Adolescents
US teenagers are less likely to start having sex when
their mothers are involved in their lives, have a
close relationship with them, and successfully communicate
their values on sex to them, according to new findings
from the largest survey ever conducted with adolescents
in the United States. The results were most consistent
among younger teens in the eighth and ninth grades.
YOUTH NEWS
Botswana:
Focus on New Hope in the Old Shebeens (news article)
Funding for three years to the tune of US $1.8 million
has come from the United Nations Foundation through
Telling the Story, a cluster of youth-led AIDS awareness
projects in seven Southern African countries. The
project has tapped into a pool of young men and women
who, like are eager to live differently. A task force
of local youth act as advisers to the scheme.
Pacific
Youth Warned on AIDS (news article)
Health experts have warned the first ever youth conference
on HIV and Aids in the Pacific that the rate of infection
in the region is rising quickly. Officials from the
United Nations children's fund, which organized the
meeting in Fiji, said the spread was largely due to
unprotected heterosexual intercourse.
Japan:
Prudish Pols, Parents Stymie Straight Sex Talk
(news article)
A sex education booklet designed for middle school
students has been recalled from schools and its printing
suspended within four months of its publication after
its publisher was criticized by the Education, Science
and Technology Ministry for the book's content.
Canada: Surprise
Result in Sex Survey (news article)
Girls in Grade 12 are more likely to have had sexual
intercourse than their male counterparts, according
to a study that questioned students.
PROFILES / SPECIAL REPORTS
A
Review of Data on Trafficking in the Republic of Korea
(research report)
A new report says that since the mid-1990s more than
5,000 women have been sent to South Korea by international
traffickers and forced into prostitution. The report,
by the Geneva-based International Organization for
Migration, says most of the women are sent to the
country to provide sexual services for American servicemen
stationed there.
Condoms
Count Meeting the Need in the Era of HIV/AIDS
(research report)
The PAI report, Condoms Count: Meeting the need documents
the failure of the donor community, and many of the
countries most affected by AIDS, to adequately support
programs that promote and distribute male and female
condoms.
Population
in Sustainable Development: Analysis, Goals, Actions
and Realities
(report)
Related news article: Scientists
Say Put Population at Core of Sustainable Development
Agenda
"If we do not put the human population at the
core of sustainable development agenda, our efforts
to improve human well-being and preserve the quality
of the environment will fail," according to this
new report released at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development.
Recommendations
for the Use of Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant Women
(report)
These recommendations update the February 4, 2002
guidelines developed by the Public Health Service
for the use of zidovudine (ZDV) to reduce the risk
of perinatal human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)
transmission.
Involving
Men in Sexual and Reproductive Health: An Orientation
Guide (CD-ROM)
(You can access the individual files from the web
site above in either PDF format or Microsoft Word
and PowerPoint formats.)
Intended as a tool for program designers and planners,
program managers and policymakers, as well as NGOs
and community groups, the Guide can facilitate sharing
information, aiding program design and planning, and
advocating for improved sexual and reproductive health
programs and services.
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