Volume 7, Number 5
19 February 2007

Pop Reporter Tip: Did you know? You can see what type an item is before you click on the title to go to the text. Below every item’s title is a description of what that item is: "News Article", "Research Article", "Report", "Abstract", and so on. Sometimes we are unable to link to full-text articles because a personal or institutional subscription is necessary. But the research is still important. We identify these items with "Abstract; subscription needed for full text" so that you know what you’ll be getting after you click the link.

FAMILY PLANNING/REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESEARCH

The condom is an ‘intruder’ in marriage: Evidence from rural Malawi
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Sub-Saharan Africa)
Social Science & Medicine. 2007 Mar;Online access January 22, 2007. 64(5):1102-1115.
Chimbiri AM
This paper assesses the condom situation within marriage in Malawi by analyzing Demographic and Health Surveys and interviews with married men and women. Results indicate that condom use is negligible inside marriage, there is considerable talk about condoms, virtually all the discussion of condoms is in the context of preventing STI/HIV-AIDS infection in extramarital partnerships, and initiating a discussion of condom use for preventing infection in marriage is like bringing an intruder into the domestic space.

Urban–rural differences in the socioeconomic deprivation–Sexual behavior link in Kenya
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Sub-Saharan Africa)
Social Science & Medicine. 2007 Mar;Online access November 20, 2006. 64(5):1019-1031.
Dodooa FNA | Zuluc EM | Ezeh AC
This study compared the impact of socioeconomic deprivation on risky sexual outcomes in rural and urban Kenya. Quantitative data are drawn from the Demographic and Health Surveys and qualitative data from the Sexual Networking and Associated Reproductive and Social Health Concerns study. The authors show that, although poverty is significantly associated with the examined sexual outcomes in all settings, the urban poor are significantly more likely than rural poor to have an early sexual debut and a greater incidence of multiple sexual partnerships.

Cohabitation, marriage, and ‘sexual monogamy’ in Nairobi's slums
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Sub-Saharan Africa)
Social Science & Medicine. 2007 Mar;Online access November 22, 2006. 64(5):1067-1078.
Hattori MK | Dodoo FNA
This study investigates the extent to which the restriction of one's sexual engagements to a single partner prevails across various marital status, union type, and co-residence categories among Nairobi's slum dwellers. This question is central to the spread of the marriage institution. Results confirm that marriage is associated with higher reports of sexual exclusivity even in settings where poverty provokes risky behavior.

Framework for comprehensive sexuality education
(Report; Global)
2007 Feb 6;
International Planned Parenthood Federation
This document has been developed to support a framework for comprehensive sexuality education, and to build upon the recommendations of an extensive, international consultation (involving IPPF staff, young people and external organizations). As well as providing an in-depth overview of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), this document aims to inspire thought and spark discussion by providing a basic planning framework for CSE.

FAMILY PLANNING/REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEWS

India: Condom as a safe tool for sex
(News Article; Asia)
13 Feb 2007
AndhraCafe.com
The condom is projected as a tool to protect oneself during sex with strangers. In India it is also seen as a family planning device, but among married couples it is still to be projected as one that can be used to guard against HIV/AIDS. In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where the number of HIV and AIDS cases are high, especially among largely monogamous women, reproductive tract infections are likely to increase because once a woman is sterilized it is difficult to negotiate with her partner about the use of a condom.

Nepal: Peer Education: An effective approach to reproductive health
(News Article; Asia)
13 Feb 2007
The Rising Nepal
A study has shown that peer education is the most effective approach to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention because talking about sex related issues in the family is still a taboo. The study was jointly carried out by the Nepal Red Cross Society and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the findings were made public in a recent dissemination meeting in Nepal.

Rwanda: Rural women yearn for family planning services
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
15 Feb 2007
The New Times
Statistics from Ruhengeri Hospital in Rwanda reveal that 65 percent of women give birth to more than six children due to ignorance about family planning. A medical superintendant said that when family planning was introduced a year ago, the turn up was very low and men did not see the importance of it. Booklets, magazines, and other guides about family planning are now being distributed in health centers across the country to educate residents on the advantages and benefits of using family planning.

Greatest generation learns about great safe sex
(News Article; North America)
14 Feb 2007
Kilgannon C, The New York Times
Sex educators went to a New York housing complex to discuss condoms and foreplay and sexually transmitted diseases to a class of 40 people in their 70s and 80s. Those assembled were told that their demographic was showing increases in sexual activity and an accompanying rise in promiscuity, homosexuality and HIV infection. The group’s leaders said that along with the increase in sexual activity at senior residences, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, there are increased complications because of lack of knowledge about safe sex.

A brief history of family planning and sexual reproductive health in Ghana
(Feature Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
14 Feb 2007
Benjamin C, The Statesman
This article reviews the origins of Ghana's family planning and reproductve health program as it evolved since the 1960s and provides lessons for the future. Family planning has achieved remarkable success since Ghana became the third Sub-Saharan African nation to create a population policy in 1969. Ghana’s policy, which was based on intensive demographic research and recommended reducing the birthrate to 2 percent per annum, was considered remarkably progressive at the time.

HIV/AIDS RESEARCH

Structural definition of a conserved neutralization epitope on HIV-1 gp120
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Global)
Nature. 2007 Feb 15;Online access February 15, 2007. 445(7129):732-737.
Tongqing Zhou T | Xu L | Dey B | Hessell AJ | Van Ryk D | Xiang SH | et al
Related News Article: AIDS virus weakness detected
Scientists have captured an image of the AIDS virus in a biological handshake with the immune cells it attacks, and said they hope this can help lead to a better vaccine against the incurable disease. They pinpointed a place on the outside of the human immunodeficiency virus that could be vulnerable to antibodies that could block it from infecting human cells.

Reproduction and fertility in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infection
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Global)
Human Reproduction Update. 2007 Mar;Online access February 15, 2007. 13(2):197-206.
van Leeuwen E | Prins JM | Jurriaans S | Boer K | Reiss P | Repping S | van der Veen F
This article summarizes current knowledge on the presence of HIV in the male and female genital tract, the effects of HIV type-1 infection and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on male and female fertility and the results of various assisted reproduction techniques (ART) in HIV-1-infected men and women who wish to have offspring.

Models of care project
(Report; Central America and the Caribbean | South America | Sub-Saharan Africa)
2005 Dec;
International Planned Parenthood Federation
This project aimed to strengthen and link the delivery of HIV and AIDS care and treatment to already existing family planning and sexual and reproductive health services, together with developing the HIV and AIDS skills and competencies of staff. The pilot projects focused on four countries: the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Rwanda, and Colombia. The countries chosen for the pilots were a diverse mix of socio-economic and cultural realities, and thus presented the opportunity for useful lessons that can be applied elsewhere.

The poverty-HIV/AIDS nexus in Africa: A livelihood approach
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Sub-Saharan Africa)
Social Science & Medicine. 2007 Mar;Online access November 28, 2006. 64(5):1032-1041.
Masanjala W
This paper reviews the nexus between poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa using a sustainable livelihood framework. Little attention has been paid to the role that social relations and livelihood strategies can play in bringing about risky social interaction that raises the chance of contracting HIV. Using the sustainable livelihood and social relation approaches, this article demonstrates that although AIDS is not simply a disease of the poor, determinants of the epidemic go far beyond individual volition and that some dimensions of being poor increase vulnerability to HIV.

Market incentives, human lives, and AIDS vaccines
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Global)
Social Science & Medicine . 2007 Mar;Online access November 17, 2006. 64(5):1042-1056.
Craddock S
Based on interviews of AIDS vaccine researchers, watchdog organizations, and ethics groups from the United States, South Africa, and Kenya conducted between August and December of 2003, this paper explores possible answers to the question of why there is no vaccine, looking in particular at contradictions between a biomedical research industry increasingly driven by market incentives and a disease that primarily affects individuals living in low-income countries with little vaccine purchasing power.

HIV/AIDS NEWS

Negotiate with drug companies, WHO chief says
(News Article; Asia)
13 Feb 2007
Reuters
In a letter to the Thai government, Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organization, said that the Thai government was fully within its rights under world trade rules to issue compulsory licenses allowing it to buy or make generic versions of two HIV/AIDS drugs and a heart disease medicine. However, she urged the global community to find the right balance between the need for affordable medicines and incentives for drug companies to develop new treatments.

Cell phones mobilized to fight AIDS in Africa
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
13 Feb 2007
Reuters
Mobile phones are being harnessed to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa under a new $10-million scheme with the backing of leading companies and the U.S. government. The Phones-for-Health project will use software loaded onto a standard Motorola handset to allow care workers in the field to enter critical health information into a central database in real time. It will be transmitted using a standard GPRS mobile connection or, where this is not available, via an SMS channel.

Gambia: President's AIDS cure raising more questions than answers
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
12 Feb 2007
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
Health professionals warn that an unsubstantiated but well-publicized claim by Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh that he can cure AIDS risks setting back efforts to stop the virus from spreading in the West Africa nation. An expert with WHO noted that international organizations were having difficulty obtaining relevant information about the president's plan from Gambian authorities.

India: 70% rural women in Bihar not aware of HIV/AIDS: survey
(News Article; Asia)
13 Feb 2007
Hindustan Times
Findings from the latest National Family Health Survey (NHFS) show that in Bihar’s rural hinterland nearly 35 percent of married men and 70 percent of women have no idea about HIV/AIDS. In urban areas, 9 percent of men have never heard of the disease. This shows with devastating clarity the extent to which Bihar has failed to create a properly functional public health system.

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH

Long term reductions in mortality among children under age 5 in rural Haiti: effects of a comprehensive health system in an impoverished setting
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Central America and the Caribbean)
American Journal of Public Health. 2007 Feb;97(2):240-246.
Perry H | Berggren W | Berggren G | Dowell D | Menager H| Bottex E | et al
Mortality in a population served by health and community development programs was compared with national mortality rates in Haiti between 1958 and 1999. Community programs have been responsible for long-term sustained reduction in mortality among children aged less than 5 years. Integrated systems for health and other community development programs could be an effective strategy for achieving the United Nations Millennium Goals.

Concurrent versus sequential methods for labor induction at term
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Asia)
International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. 2007 Feb;96(2):94-97.
Khan RA | Khan ZE | Ashraf O
This comparative cohort study determined the efficacy and safety of the concurrent administration of oxytocin and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) for induction of labor at term, prompt delivery, and good maternal and neonatal outcomes. The mean induction to delivery time was shorter by 2.4 h in the concurrent treatment group, and the proportion of vaginal deliveries was higher in that group. The concurrent method of induction of labor resulted in shorter induction to delivery time and a higher proportion of vaginal deliveries.

Vitamin D status in mothers and their newborns in Iran
(Research Article; Middle East)
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 12 Feb 2007;7(1)
Maghbooli Z | Hossein-Nezhad A | Shafaei AR | Karimi F | Madani FS | Larijani B
Adequate vitamin D concentrations during pregnancy are necessary to neonatal calcium homeostasis, bone maturation, and mineralization. The aim of the study was to evaluate serum vitamin D concentrations in mothers and their newborns and effect of vitamin D deficiency on pregnancy outcomes. Maternal and cord blood samples were taken at delivery from 552 women. In mothers with vitamin D deficiency, cord blood vitamin D concentrations was lower than those from normal mothers.

Increased blood loss in upright birthing positions originates from perineal damage
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Global)
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2007 Mar;Online access February 16, 2007. 114(3):349-355.
de Jonge A | van Diem MTH | Scheepers PLH | van der Pal-de Bruin KM | Lagro-Janssen ALM
This study sought to assess whether the risk of severe blood loss is increased in semi-sitting and sitting birthing position and the extent to which blood loss is due to perineal damage. Mean total blood loss and the incidence of blood loss greater than 500 ml and 1000 ml were increased in semi-sitting and sitting position. Regression analysis demonstrated that semi-sitting and sitting birthing positions only lead to increased blood loss among women with perineal damage.

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH NEWS

UN health project to benefit 5 million people in DPR Korea
(News Article; Asia)
13 Feb 2007
UN News Agency
5 million people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are benefiting from a five-year $20-million United Nations health project funded by the Republic of Korea to improve the health of women and children. The project aims to improve the standards for health care and public health in DPRK with a particular focus on the needs of women and children and is also helping to retrain health professionals and improve county hospitals and community clinics.

Malawi targets 75 percent cut in maternal deaths
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
14 Feb 2007
Agence France-Presse
Malawi, where a pregnant mother dies every hour during childbirth, has launched a two million dollar program to lower the level of maternal deaths by 75%. A health official said that Malawi's mortality rate is currently at 984 per 100,000 live births, which is a national emergency that requires concerted effort by everybody.

India: Girl child mortality on the rise: study
(News Article; Asia)
11 Feb 2007
Hindustan Times
Newly released census data suggests that in some Indian states with lowest sex ratios, death of girl children seems to be on the rise. The concern is the rising infant mortality rate for the girl child in states with skewed sex ratios. Take for example, Haryana, with a sex ratio of 861 girls for 1,000 boys (as per 2001 census), the infant mortality rate has risen from 65 in 2003 to 70 in 2005 for 1,000 live births. Incidentally, the infant mortality rate for boys in Haryana has fallen from 54 in 2003 to 51 in 2005.

Malawi Govt partners with WHO and EC on health service
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
15 Feb 20007
Nyasa Times
The Government of Malawi, the European Commission, and the World Health Organisation have entered into a partnership aimed at reducing maternal deaths as a contribution to Malawi’s attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. A health minister said that Malawi is one of the countries in Africa with a high percentage rate of maternal deaths, which derails socioeconomic development. The program theme is "Making Pregnancy Safer."

Namibia: Law 'punishes' pregnant women
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
12 Feb 2007
New Era
More and more women are being forced to forgo their maternity leave for fear of losing out on benefits that accrue to them from their employers. Many have resorted to taking their annual leave combined with sick leave, which in most cases does not allow them ample time to bond with their little ones.

MEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH

Fertility issues for men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; North America)
Urology. 2007 Jan;Online access January 30, 2007. 69(1):123-125.
Knoester PA | Leonard M | Wood DP | Schuster TG
With the increased use of prostate-specific antigen screening, younger men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer. A subset of these men is still interested in potentially having children after cancer treatment. The charts of 8 patients with prostate cancer who were interested in future fertility before treatment were retrospectively reviewed. All 8 patients decided to have their semen stored using cryopreservation before their operation.

Fertilization and pregnancy outcome after intracytoplasmic injection with fresh or cryopreserved ejaculated spermatozoa
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; South America)
Fertility and Sterility. 2007 Feb;87(2):316-320.
Borges E | Rossi L | Freitas C | Guilherme P | Carvalho T | Iaconelli A
A retrospective study was done to assess fertilization, implantation, and pregnancy rates in patients undergoing ICSI using fresh and cryopreserved sperm from ejaculated semen samples in academic and private medical centers. Fertilization, implantation, and pregnancy rates were evaluated. Normal-fertilization rates were higher using fresh sperm compared with cryopreserved sperm and semen with abnormalities in the motility may be more susceptible to sperm cryopreservation damage, resulting in lower fertilization rates.

MEN'S HEALTH NEWS

Research links vasectomy with higher dementia risk
(News Article; Global)
13 Feb 2007
Reuters
Men who have had a vasectomy may face an increased risk of developing a rare type of dementia marked by a steady loss of language skills. Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois linked this male sterilization surgery to a neurological condition called primary progressive aphasia, or PPA.

Kenya: Uncircumcised pupils sent home
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
12 Feb 2007
BBC News
A Kenyan secondary school sent home 20 boys because they were not circumcised, saying it feared they would be bullied by other students. Circumcision is not obligatory for admission to secondary school, but a study released in December said it reduced the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Circumcision is practised in many, but not all, of Kenya's various ethnic groups.

POPULATION RESEARCH

Modelling the impact of migration on the HIV epidemic in South Africa
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Sub-Saharan Africa)
AIDS. 30 Jan 2007;Online access February 14, 2007. 21(3):343-350.
Coffee M | Lurie MN | Garnett GP
Related News Article: Migration played key role in HIV spread in South Africa
A deterministic mathematical model was designed to evaluate the dynamic interactions between mobility, sexual behavior, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections. The model was based on a population study of 488 adults, which included male migrants, male non-migrants, and their rural partners in South Africa. Migration primarily influences HIV spread by increasing high-risk sexual behavior, rather than by connecting areas of low and high risk. Accordingly, intervention programs in South Africa need to target the sexual behavior of short-term migrants.

Late marriage and the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa
(Abstract; Sub-Saharan Africa)
Population Studies. 2007 Mar;Online access February 15, 2007. 61(1):73-83.
Bongaarts J
This study assessed the potential roles of late age at marriage and a long period of premarital sexual activity as population risk factors, using ecological data from 33 sub-Saharan African countries and with individual-level data from Kenya and Ghana in 2003. The ecological analysis finds a significant positive correlation between HIV prevalence and median age at first marriage, and between HIV prevalence and interval between first sexual intercourse and first marriage. HIV infection per year of exposure is higher before than after first marriage.

POPULATION NEWS

Rwanda moves to limit family size
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
13 Feb 2007
Reuters
Rwanda is planning to limit couples to no more than three children because of rising poverty in Africa's most densely populated country. The country has one of the world's highest birth rates. Some are keen to have children to replace the family members lost during the 1994 genocide. The government is holding discussions with church leaders -- hoping to win their support for family planning.

Russia bids to boost birth rates
(News Article; Asia)
14 Feb 2007
BBC
A combination of low birth rates and high death rates mean that the vast sparsely-populated country of Russia could lose 40 million people -- almost a third of its current population -- by the middle of this century. Under a new scheme introduced this year, mothers can apply for a government handout of $9,000 -- equivalent to about two years' income for most Russians -- simply if she has more than one child. The scheme is the Russian government's response to what appears to be a catastrophic decline in the population.

Chile faces “aging population” challenge
(News Article; South America)
12 Feb 2007
Merco Press
Chile’s birth rate has dropped substantially from 3.5% in 1962 to just 1.6% today. And with the country’s 'baby boom' generation (1957–1962) turning grey, Chile could face a future crisis of social care and pension payments. While this indicates Chile’s movement towards an increasingly gender-equal and economically developed society, more traditional members of society have suggested that the change in brith rate is due to contraceptives and women in the workforce.

India: Alarming rise in fertility rate
(News Article; Asia)
14 Feb 2007
Indiatimes
The recent findings of the National Family Health Survey 2005-2006 (NFHS 3) have shown a startling increase in the fertility rate in Bihar even though the rates are decreasing in the rest of India. With more children, Bihar is now seeing a rise in the percentage of underweight children and those suffering from growth-related problems.

WOMEN'S HEALTH RESEARCH

Sex in Geneva, sex in Lilongwe, and sex in Balaka
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Sub-Saharan Africa)
Social Science & Medicine. 2007 Mar;Online access November 22, 2006. 64(5):1090-1101.
Tawfik L | Watkins SC
This paper compares three interpretations of women and the transmission of HIV in rural Malawi, focusing on women's motivations for extramarital sex. Using qualitative interview data, authors find that, whereas in Geneva and Lilongwe, women from rural Malawi are said to engage in sexual relationships outside of marriage because they need money for survival, in Balaka they are said to be motivated not only by money for survival but also for attractive consumer goods as well as by passion and by revenge for a husband's infidelity.

WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWS

24 percent of Yemeni women experience genital mutilation
(News Article; Middle East)
13 Feb 2007
According to a United Nations Population Fund office, 24 percent of Yemeni women have been exposed to female genital mutilation (FGM). A 2001 ministerial decree prohibited FGM in Yemen, but health officials say they couldn’t monitor the decree’s application in all medical facilities.

Menstrual cycle injury risk link
(News Article; Europe)
12 Feb 2007
BBC News
Doctors at London's Portland Hospital surveyed 1,000 osteopaths, and studied 17 women with a regular menstrual cycle. Results suggest that the risk of injury is linked to fluctuating hormone levels which affect the muscles and ligaments. Both tissues appear to be vulnerable midway through the menstrual cycle, while the ligaments are at greater risk at the end. Midway through the cycle, the level of the female sex hormone oestrogen, which gives strength to muscles and ligaments, drops dramatically, resulting in sudden weakness.

MALI: Communication key to stopping genital excision
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
14 Feb 2007
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
Mali has one of the highest rates of female genital cutting in Africa, but organizations working to stop the practice say they are slowly making headway to change attitudes. About 92% of all Malian girls between the ages of 15 and 49 have already undergone the procedure, according to the government. Female genital cutting is practiced in about 28 African countries as a traditional way of keeping women chaste and eligible for marriage.

Rites and wrongs: Is outlawing female genital mutilation enough to stop it from happening here?
(News Article; Global)
11 Feb 2007
Boston Globe
In societies where female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced, FGM is seen variously as a religious obligation, a rite of passage, a hygienic measure, a means of controlling sexuality, and a prerequisite for marriageability. Former United States Democratic congresswoman Pat Schroeder, a longtime champion of women's rights, sponsored a bill to outlaw FGM. Having opposed the custom for years, she was spurred to act by rising rates of African immigration to the United States.

YOUTH HEALTH RESEARCH

Factors inhibiting educated mothers in Kenya from giving meaningful sex-education to their daughters
(Abstract; subscription needed for full text; Sub-Saharan Africa)
Social Science & Medicine. 2007 Mar;Online access January 26, 2007. 64(5):1079-1089.
Mbugua N
In 2003, data were collected from a focus group with fourth-form students and interviews with 4 teachers and 15 mothers whose daughters were in high school in Kenya. The findings indicate that most educated mothers in urban Kenya experience socio-cultural and religious inhibitions which hinder them from providing meaningful sex education to their pre-adolescent and adolescent daughters. This paper discusses these inhibitions and the steps educated mothers take to ensure that their daughters receive some form of sex education.

A semi-qualitative study of attitudes to vaccinating adolescents against human papillomavirus without parental consent
(Research Article; Europe)
BMC Public Health. 2007 Feb 9;7(20)
Brabin L | Roberts SA | Kitchener HC
Authors investigated parents' views on making HPV vaccination available to adolescent minors at sexual health clinics in the UK without parental consent. This was a semi-qualitative analysis of views of parents of 11-12-year-old school children collected as part of a population-based survey of parental attitudes to HPV vaccination. Results suggest that in the UK, the principle of adolescent autonomy is recognised and logically should include the right to HPV vaccination, but this may concern parents who would otherwise approve vaccination.

YOUTH HEALTH NEWS

Africa: Children lose out as NGOs mushroom
(News Article; Sub-Saharan Africa)
12 Feb 2007
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
A recent pan-African conference in Nairobi discussed how existing interventions are failing African children affected by HIV/AIDS, leaving them with little access to treatment and limited support. Delegates to the conference called for new ideas to deal with the duplication of services and gaps in HIV service delivery.

India: Kerala halts sex education programme
(News Article; Asia)
14 Feb 2007
The Peninsula
The Kerala Government has halted an adolescent education program following criticism that it offends the sensibilities of parents and students in a society that treats open discussion of sex as taboo. The program included a 16-hour discussion module on sexuality, adolescent growth issues, and sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS.

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Volume 7, Number 519 February 2007