Reproductive Health Matters back issues from May 2005:
Implementing ICPD: what's happening in countries.(EDITORIAL)
May 01, 2005; ... In 1994, governments gave themselves 20 years to implement the ICPD Programme of Action. It was a wise decision. Anything less would have been far too short to achieve the goals espoused. Anything more would have risked it being forgotten, overtaken not only by new issues but also by the ...
Strategy to accelerate progress towards the attainment of international development goals and targets related to reproductive health.
May 01, 2005 ... Abstract: Reproductive and sexual ill-health account for 20% of the global burden of ill-health for women, and 14% for men. The strategy presented in this document is the World Health Organization's first global strategy on reproductive health. It was adopted by the 57th World Health ...
Girls can't wait: why girls' education matters and how to make it happen now: briefing paper for the UN Beijing +10 review and appraisal.
May 01, 2005 ... Without achieving gender equality for girls in education, the world has no chance of achieving many of the ambitious health, social and development targets it has set for itself. (UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, March 2005) THIS is the year that the world will miss the first ...
Norway at ICPD+10: international assistance for reproductive health does not reflect domestic policies.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: Norway has a long history of good reproductive health care, with some of the world's best reproductive health indicators. Early reduction of maternal mortality, good services for abortion, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, a low rate of adolescent pregnancies and a ...
Women's perceptions of reproductive health in three communities around Beirut, Lebanon.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: The aim of this study was to elicit definitions of the concept of reproductive health among women in three communities around Beirut, Lebanon, as part of the reproductive health component of a larger Urban Health Study. The communities were characterised by poverty, rural-urban ...
Women in Arab countries: challenging the patriarchal system?
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: Progress in the empowerment of Arab women was found to be low in a 2002 report. Yet Arab women's status is not reflected in continuing high fertility, which in 2000 had dropped sharply in one generation to 3.4. This paper discusses why fertility decline could nevertheless have ...
The sexual and reproductive health of young people in the Arab countries and Iran.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: This article reviews the sexual and reproductive health situation of young people aged 10-24 in the Arab states and Iran, based on published and unpublished literature and interviews with 51 key informants working mostly in NGOs and international agencies in the region. There are ...
A strategic assessment of the reproductive health and responsible parenthood programme of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: Since 1991, Argentina has had provincial reproductive health laws, a far-reaching national programme and strong public consensus in support of reproductive health policies. Nevertheless, the challenges of strengthening public services, increasing the number of programme sites and ...
The population and reproductive health programme in Brazil 1990-2002: lessons learned: a report to the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: The story of Brazil's evolution in sexual and reproductive health and rights during the 1990s documents not only a decade of change in the population field, but the powerful role of social movements in a democracy. Between October and December 2002, 23 people were interviewed ...
Sexual and reproductive health and rights in the United Kingdom at ICPD+10.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: At the mid-point of the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, we reviewed the situation in the UK in key areas. In recent years, greater attention has been paid to sexual health at a national policy level including strategies on ...
Global progress in abortion advocacy and policy: an assessment of the decade since ICPD.(International Conference on Population and Development)
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action represented a positive step toward legitimising abortion as a component of basic reproductive health services. This paper reviews how the ICPD principles and recommendations have been ...
Orphans and vulnerable children: official opening of the 13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, 2003, Nairobi.
May 01, 2005; ... I am obviously delighted to have the privilege of participating in this opening session of ICASA. But I am also aware that the speaking list is lengthy. So quite frankly, I'm going to scrap the remarks I intended to make--primarily on financial resources and treatment--which would have ...
We are cracking open some taboos--what about the remaining ones?
May 01, 2005; ... THE ICPD Programme of Action was a watershed. In retrospect, and with the prevailing political situation in the world, it is even more astonishing than it seemed then that consensus was actually reached over the issues discussed in Cairo. Over the last decades there has been increasing ...
ICPD goals: essential to the millennium development goals.(COMMENTARY)(International Conference on Population and Development)
May 01, 2005; ... THE year 2005 is a pivotal year for ensuring that sexual and reproductive health are fully addressed in the implementation and monitoring of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), listed in Box 1. When the MDGs were developed following the Millennium Summit in 2000, no goal was included ...
Thinking beyond ICPD+10: where should our movement be going? *.(ROUNDTABLE)(International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo)
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: In this roundtable discussion, three long-time international activists in the field of reproductive and sexual rights discuss the challenges facing the feminist women's health movement ten years after the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, and ...
Legal harmonization and reproductive tourism in Europe.(ANALYSIS)
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: Legislation of ethicol issues illustrates the uneasy mix of ethics and politics. Although the majority bas the political right to express its moral views in the law, a number of important ethical values like autonomy, tolerance and respect for other people's opinions urge the ...
Maternal health and HIV.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: The HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the major factors affecting women's health, with 20 million women living with HIV and more than two million pregnancies in HIV-positive women each year. Most HIV infections in women are in resource-constrained settings where the risk of maternal ...
Focus on women: linking HIV care and treatment with reproductive health services in the MTCT-Plus Initiative.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: Despite important advances in expanding access to antiretroviral therapy in the countries most heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, there has been little consideration of the connections between HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes and reproductive health services. In this ...
Syrian women's perceptions and experiences of ultrasound screening in pregnancy: implications for antenatal policy.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: Ultrasound scanning is firmly embedded in antenatal maternity care around the world. This paper reports on a qualitative study carried out in 2003 of 30 Syrian women's perceptions and experiences of routine ultrasound in pregnancy. It was part of a larger study of the experiences ...
Resumption of sexual relations following childbirth: norms, practices and reproductive health issues in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: Before modern contraceptive methods were available in developing countries, postpartum sexual abstinence formed the backbone of birth spacing. With the changes occurring in African societies, how has post-partum sexual abstinence been affected? We conducted an exploratory study ...
Why withdrawal? Why not withdrawal? Men's perspectives.
May 01, 2005; ... Abstract: Withdrawal is an ancient and prevalent form of male contraception which has largely been ignored by family planning programme managers all over the world. The objective of this study was to understand men's perspectives on withdrawal use, both users and non-users. In-depth ...
AIDS 2004, Bangkok: a human rights and development issue.(CONFERENCE REPORT)
May 01, 2005; ... THE 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok from 11-16 July 2004 once again brought together the wide range of actors involved in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Researchers, scientists, donors, government leaders, public health officials, doctors, pharmaceutical and representatives ...
Women and HIV/AIDS: Confronting the Crisis.(Book Review)
May 01, 2005; ... Women and HIV/AIDS: Confronting the Crisis Ann Erb-Leoncavallo, Gillian Holmes, Stephanie Urdang, Micol Zarb, Gloria Jacobs, Joann Vanek. Geneva/New York: UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNIFEM, 2004. "HIV/AIDS is no longer primarily striking men." Thus opens the new document from ...
Contraceptive effectiveness of male condoms high.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... Data from two randomised, controlled contraceptive efficacy trials were combined, involving 800 couples who used three latex condom brands exclusively for up to six menstrual cycles. Detailed reports (3,715) on slippage and breakage were collected from the first five study condom uses ....
Better instruction in the use of condoms could reduce breakage and slippage.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... A questionnaire given to 428 single men and women examined incidents of condom breakage and slippage over the previous three months. Breakage and slippage were round to be associated with never receiving instruction on correct condom use, more than one sex partner, more frequent use of ...
Branded mass media condom campaigns positively affect risk perception.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... For mass media health campaigns to work they need to change perceptions before they can affect behaviour. Questionnaires given to over 2000 15-39 year olds in Kenya asked them about their exposure to generic and branded mass media messages about HIV/AIDS and condom use, and about their ...
Le Visa--Niger's own brand of condom.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... A project to increase condom use in Niger has launched its own brand of condoms designed to appeal specifically to the local market. The product goes under the brand name "Le Visa" chosen for its cross-cultural appeal and the puns associated with its name, such as the concept of "ticket to ...
Advertising condoms in Korea.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... In an effort to slow the increase of HIV in Korea, the Korean Centre for Disease Control has launched a campaign to improve the image of condoms. Condom use in the country is only about 12% and the KCDC and the Korea Anti-AIDS Federation are broadcasting public service commercials ...
More training in condom use needed in the UK.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... This study of 300 men and 300 women attending a genito-urinary (STI) clinic in the UK shows that less than a quarter of all the respondents always used condoms, and 55% of the homosexual and bisexual men. About half the condom users reported problems with condoms such as tearing or the ...
Delayed application of condoms is common in Australia.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... Seven focus group discussions with heterosexual men and women aged 18-25 in Australia revealed that both withdrawal and delayed application of condoms are widespread. Delayed application divided into two categories--after limited unprotected penetration and for ejaculation only. Withdrawal ...
Condom use can speed up regression of HPV-associated lesions.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... A study of over 100 women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN, a precursor of cervical cancer) and their male sexual partners indicates that consistent condom use can speed up regression of HPV-associated lesions and infection. The CIN regression rate at two-year follow-up was 53% ...
Mortality for babies born with HIV in relation to mothers' risk of death.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... This study pools data from seven mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) intervention studies in an attempt to analyse mortality risk factors for children born to HIV-infected mothers. Overall, 378 (11%) of the 3468 children included in these studies died. By one year of age, 35.2% infected ...
HIV and infant feeding: global guidelines and local realities.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... Recent WHO guidance on HIV and infant feeding says: "Breastfeeding is normally the best way to feed an infant. A woman with HIV, however, can transmit the virus to her child during pregnancy, labour or delivery, or through breastfeeding. It is a public health responsibility to prevent HIV ...
Trends in HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa reviewed.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... Trends in HIV prevalence can be obtained using data from the same population at different time points. This survey of data from over 300 antenatal clinics in 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa considers trends between 1997 and 2003. The median prevalence in 148 clinics in southern Africa ...
Changing behaviour and reduction of HIV prevalence in Tanzania.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... In the Bukoba urban area of Kagera, Tanzania, the prevalence of age-adjusted HIV-1 has slowly fallen from 24.2% in 1987 to 18.2% in 1993 and then to 13.3% in 1996. This follow-up of the Kagera AIDS Research Project used in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, field observation and ...
Partner reduction, including concurrent partnerships, essential for HIV prevention.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... It is difficult to ascertain the relative importance of reduction in the number of sexual partners as opposed to other forms of safer sex but it is common sense that with fewer sexual partners, HIV transmission is less likely to occur. Much of the impetus for partner reduction has come ...
Coordinating funds against HIV/AIDS is proving difficult.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has distributed significant amounts of money worldwide via Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM), whose role is to apply for grants from the fund, and principal recipients within each country who are legally responsible for local ...
Medecins sans Frontieres challenges WHO conclusions about global AIDS treatment.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... The recently released WHO "3 x 5" progress report congratulates itself on progress made in the drive to fight the HIV pandemic. But only 700,000, or 12%, of the nearly six million people in need of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in developing countries currently have such access. Looking ...
Integrating HIV services can improve all primary health care indicators.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... Primary health care--the delivery of basic preventative and curative services--should be a top priority item in all health care services, dealing with all major infectious and non-infectious causes of morbidity and mortality. Where HIV is a leading cause of adult death, this means primary ...
Rapid HIV testing piloted in Swaziland.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... The University of Swaziland became the first site of a new rapid HIV testing procedure, testing over 1,000 new students in less than two days in August 2004. The test involves a pinprick of blood put onto a card. If no line develops within one hour the individual does not have HIV ...
Cameroon government suspends trial of AIDS drug amid ethical concerns.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... Clinical trials of an anti-AIDS drug being tested on sex workers by the US pharmaceutical company Gilead have been suspended after controversy over how the trials were being conducted. A statement by the Cameroon government refers to "dysfunctions that have been noted by the audit mission" ...
More people entitled to post-exposure prophylaxis in the US.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... Post-exposure prophylaxis using antiretroviral drugs against HIV is known to prevent infection if it is started within 72 hours of exposure to the virus. In the US, the use of such prophylaxis has until recently been restricted to health care workers who might have been exposed through ...
US refusal to fund HIV programmes for sex workers undermines women's rights.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... The US "Global AIDS Act" which sets out US priorities in funding the fight against HW, tuberculosis and malaria specifically prohibits funding of programmes that promote the "legalisation or practice of prostitution': The origin of this clause may lie in the equation of prostitution with ...
Misinformation on nevirapine safety puts developing country PMTCT programmes at risk.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
May 01, 2005 ... In mid-December 2004, three "exclusive" Associated Press stories created widespread doubts about the use of nevirapine to prevent HW in many of the 1,800 babies now infected perinatally with HIV around childbirth. The allegations that went around the world apparently grew out of a bitter ...
New heat-resistant aspirator for early abortions and treatment for incomplete abortion.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... Manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) is a low-cost, simple technique which has given women access to safe and effective uterine evacuation for over 30 years. This essential reproductive health technology is now improved by the introduction of the Ipas MVA Plus. This aspirator can tolerate heat, ...
Introducing a new model of antenatal care to Thailand.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... Models of antenatal care in developing countries are based on those used in developed countries despite the differences in access to resources. A large WHO multicentre trial has suggested that fewer visits--a median of five per pregnancy compared with eight--can be introduced into clinical ...
Providing reproductive health care in Afghanistan.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)
May 01, 2005 ... The Shuhada organisation was set up in 1989 by an Afghan exile in Pakistan to attempt to address the health and education needs of Afghan women and girls. It has grown to encompass four hospitals, 12 clinics, 60 schools and many other programmes designed to empower Afghan women and girls, ...
Developing a strategy to reduce maternal deaths: Sri Lanka.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)
May 01, 2005 ... Sri Lanka has a long history of social welfare reform and is a success story in terms of reducing maternal mortality starting in the 1930s. The strategies used have included legislation, expansion of services and improving access, with underlying support from free education and a good road ...
Poor, rural women missing out on antenatal care in north India.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... A study of over 11,000 rural women in rural north India showed that only around 40% received any type of antenatal check-up during their last pregnancy. Of these, the majority received predominantly tetanus toxoid vaccination and a supply of iron and folic acid tablets. Only 13% of ...
Maternal mortality ratio reduced by half in Egypt.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... In 1992-93 the maternal mortality ratio in Egypt was 174 to 100,000 live births. By 2000 using a combination of strategies, it had dropped to less than half that figure, 84 to 100,000. Increased access to family planning resulted in a doubling to over 54% in the use of modern ...
New health care system fails Arab Israeli women.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... Arab Israeli women are subject to unique social stresses deriving from their status as part of an ethno-political minority and from their position as women in a patriarchal community. Collectively, their health profiles are poorer than Jewish Israeli women. In January-July 2000, ...
Using participatory women's groups to reduce neonatal mortality in Nepal.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)
May 01, 2005 ... In a rare randomised, controlled trial of community-based strategies, this study clearly shows that participatory intervention can improve birth outcome in a poor rural population. Twelve pairs of matched areas ("clusters") in the Makwanpur district of Nepal were chosen, each cluster ...
Post-partum morbidity in Karachi women.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... 525 women living in a poor neighbourhood of Karachi, Pakistan, who were 6-8 weeks postpartum after a live birth, were interviewed to assess their perception of and response to postpartum symptoms. Over half the women reported at least one symptom and many reported two or more. The most ...
Midwives discuss their approach to elective caesarean section.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)
May 01, 2005 ... Midwives across the world have been discussing the rising number of caesarean sections, whether this is something they should be concerned about and what action they should take to help women come to the right decision about their delivery. Should their role be to promote normal delivery ...
Second opinion rarely prevents unnecessary caesarean sections.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... The WHO recommends a target of 15% caesarean sections, a figure which is now exceeded in many countries. This has led to increasing research on why caesarean rates are rising and how to prevent unnecessary caesareans. A study in Egypt of over 400 births showed that the hospital caesarean ...
Investigating the consequences of repeated caesarean section.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... One of the main indications for caesarean section is a previous caesarean section. As the number of caesarean sections rises, including as a patient choice, multiple caesarean sections will become increasingly common. Whereas a second vaginal delivery is almost always without complications ...
Doctors in Chile deliver adolescent education in schools.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... CEMERA (Centro de Medicina Reproductiva y Desarrollo Integral de la Adolescencia) has worked with the Ministry of Education over seven years to provide a comprehensive programme in schools in Santiago, Chile, teaching basic information about reproduction, contraception and sexually ...
Improving medical students' confidence in dealing with sexual health.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... The teaching of sexual and reproductive health to medical undergraduates is often restricted to genitourinary medicine and gynaecology, meaning that they are poorly equipped on graduation for dealing with sexual health issues. In an effort to improve communication skills, knowledge and ...
South African men have poor understanding of fertility and infertility.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... In Africa, infertility has traditionally been seen as a female problem, with little attention paid to the experiences of men who are infertile. This study interviewed 27 men from diverse backgrounds attending an infertility clinic for the first time in South Africa. The men had little ...
Text messages to promote daily oral contraceptive use in the UK.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... In a scheme to promote consistent use of the contraceptive pill, South Birmingham Primary Care Trust is paying an agency to text daily messages to 300 women aged 15-25, reminding them to take their pill, using a ...
No reason for limiting use of emergency contraception.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... There bas been concern that, despite the established safety and value of emergency contraception (EC), repeat use of the method could have associated risks. However, repeat use is lower than perhaps feared, with most studies showing only around 3% of users using EC three or more times in ...
Portuguese women learn about misoprostol from Women on Waves.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... The Women on Waves ship visited Portuguese waters in September 2004 to call attention to the consequences of illegal abortion, to give information and sexual health education, and to catalyse a change in the restrictive abortion laws of Portugal. Although the ship was refused entry to ...
Reproductive rights and adults with learning disabilities.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... In this "clinical conundrum", three professionals (a family planning consultant, a training manager for a national sexual health charity and an ethicist) and two mothers of learning-disabled children offer their viewpoints on a real-life ethical dilemma. The clinical scenario is as ...
High level of abortion-related deaths in Russia linked to late abortion.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... Abortion-related deaths occur at a far higher level in Russia than elsewhere in Europe with a case-fatality ratio of 6.3 to 100,000 known legal and illegal abortions. The deaths mainly occur after abortions performed at 13-21 weeks (53%) and 22-27 weeks (25%) of pregnancy, even though only ...
UK cervical cancer screening saves up to 5,000 women a year.(ROUND UP: Service Delivery)(Brief Article)
May 01, 2005 ... It bas been suggested that the financial and psychosocial costs of the UK national cervical screening programme are too great to justify the reduction in mortality achieved. An analysis of trends in mortality before 1988, when the programme was introduced, allows an estimate of what might ...