News Review – 16 June 2017
Demographic Dividend?
How will the “Demographic Dividend” pay out? The question got a lot of attention as the Day of the African Child approached. At a G20 conference, Jamie Drummond, a co-founder of ONE, highlighted that “Africa’s population doubled in size since 1985 – and will double again by 2050 to 2.5bn. By then the young population of Africa will be 10 times the size of the EU’s youth population, and equal that of the entire rest of g20 put together.” In Kenya, cognizant of the need to manage the youth boom, the Centre for the Study of Adolescents was clear: “African governments including Kenya have the opportunity to refocus their attention to the provision of comprehensive sexuality education as a social vaccine to most health related problems facing children.” The Population Reference Bureau released a video as part of the campaign with a similar message to the 15 million young Kenyans, calling for access to contraceptives and reduced fertility rates. An upbeat video from Uganda followed a community health worker providing family planning information village to village. In Ghana, former president Rawlings urged a slowdown in the birth rate. A chilling commentary came from Lesotho, where the “population bomb”, and a lack of planning, has led to near starvation for a third of the population over the past two years.
US FP Funding
The debate over US international family planning funding continues to draw attention. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson heard concerns from Congress about the impact not just by putting women in jeopardy, but on the detriment to US national security. A Guttmacher study noted the US was out of step with the rest of the world: “The United States remains stuck in its counterproductive pattern of lurching back and forth depending on the prevailing politics, even as the world advances sexual and reproductive health and rights.” The Kaiser Family Foundation takes a deep dive into the numbers and comes up with the potential consequences of the budget cuts: “Additional new HIV infections would range from 69,200 to 280,100; the number of people on antiretrovirals could decline by almost one million in the steepest budget cut scenario; the number of women and couples receiving contraceptives would decline, ranging from 6.5 million to almost 25 million; the increase in the number of abortions would range between 819,000 to more than 3 million; and additional maternal, newborn, and child deaths would range between 7,000 and 31,300.” Yet some politicians feel that the administration has so overstepped that they are gaining momentum to repeal the Global Gag Rule forever. Reaching a new audience, American pop star Halsey released a video criticizing the Gag Rule.
Europe alone cannot plug the funding gap, Sweden’s state secretary for international development warned. And the WHO regional director for Africa encouraged more domestic spending in Africa: “As countries graduate into middle income states, they need to smartly invest more of their resources in health.”
HIV prevention
A generic version of the HIV prevention drug sold as Truvada has been approved by the FDA, “sparking a new debate about how far the drug should be included in combatting HIV”, while it was pointed out that the Achilles Heel of any such drug is patient adherence. The CDC recommended conception strategies for uninfected women whose male partner is HIV positive.
Postpartum Family Planning
A University of Michigan study which concludes that “more new mothers are asking for long-term birth control” – an increase from 1.86 per 10,000 deliveries in 2008 to 13.5 per 10,000 deliveries in 2013 – is getting attention.
The Abortion Debate
International Planned Parenthood Federation released two new videos, about how to talk about abortion, and how to educate about abortion. Eye on Design exhibited five design-led projects to “redesign” how we communicate about the topic. And from Angola to Zimbabwe, abortion laws were in the news; in the former country a total ban was blocked, while in the latter MPs clashed.
Ireland’s laws, which “lock women up,” were criticized by the UN as “cruel and inhumane”, as a teenage girl who sought an abortion was detained in a psychiatric unit.
Complete News Review References:
General/Global
What is Social Accountability and How is it Used in Family Planning?, The Evidence Project, 15 Jun 2017
Irish teenager seeking abortion ‘detained in psychiatric unit’, The Independent, 14 Jun 2017
Halsey Takes on the Global Gag Rule in This New Video, Teen Vogue, 14 Jun 2017
Congress questions global health impact of proposed budget cuts, Healio, 14 Jun 2017
Prime Minister announces Canada to host Women Deliver Conference, Prime Minister of Canada’s office, 13 Jun 2017
‘Gentle’ C-sections are growing in popularity, CNN, 13 Jun 2017
Condom drops and airborne meds: 6 ways drones could change health care, STAT news, 13 Jun 2017
Why Is Reproductive Justice Vital in This Political Moment? A New Book Breaks It Down, The Nation, 13 Jun 2017
What Could U.S. Budget Cuts Mean for Global Health?, KFF, 13 Jun 2017
UN repeats criticism of Ireland’s ‘cruel and inhumane’ abortion laws, The Guardian, 13 Jun 2017
Fever during pregnancy may increase autism risk in offspring, Washington Post, 13 Jun 2017
G20-Africa Partnership Conference Berlin 2017: The scramble to empower Africa’s youth boom, Thomson Reuters Foundation, 12 Jun 2017
More New Mothers Asking for Long-Term Birth Control, Healthline News, 12 Jun 2017
Canada walks the talk on global women’s rights, Globe and Mail, 12 Jun 2017
In Texas, Abstinence-Only Programs May Contribute To Teen Pregnancies, KHN, 12 Jun 2017
11 Crucial Moments In The History Of The Reproductive Rights Movement, Bustle, 12 Jun 2017
Women Should Not Be Locked Up Because They Want An Abortion, Uplift Ireland, 12 Jun 2017
Mass protests against abortion ban and the awakening of Polish civil society, The Broker, 12 Jun 2017
Can We Redesign the Way We Talk About Abortion? Meet the Women Behind 5 Very Powerful Design-led Projects, Eye on Design, 12 Jun 2017
With an African running the WHO, it’s time for the continent to get hands on, The Conversation, 11 Jun 2017
Conservatives want to restrict abortion so much they’ll endanger their own health care bill, Think Progress, 10 Jun 2017
Europe alone cannot plug the family planning funding gap — Sweden’s Modéer, Devex, 9 Jun 2017
Dr. Moeti: Donor aid for health is shrinking, invest more national resources, The East African, 9 Jun 2017
Gilead’s HIV prevention pill is going generic. How far will Teva drop the price?, STAT News, 9 Jun 2017
Addressing Adherence: PrEP’s Achilles Heel, Penn Medicine News, 9 Jun 2017
5% of U.S. Pregnant Women With Zika Had Baby With a Birth Defect, The New York Times, 8 Jun 2017
Trump’s Proposed Foreign Aid Cuts Put Women In Jeopardy, Huffington Post, 8 Jun 2017
How Worried Should Cat Owners Be About Toxoplasmosis?, The New York Times, 8 Jun 2017
The Fight To Kill The Global Gag Rule Forever May Have Gotten A Boost From Trump, BuzzFeed, 7 Jun 2017
How to talk about abortion, IPPF, 6 Jun 2017
Tips on how to educate about abortion, IPPF, 6 Jun 2017
The Global Gag Rule and Fights over Funding UNFPA: The Issues That Won’t Go Away, Guttmacher Policy Review, 3 Jun 2017
A period emoji could help girls talk about menstruation. That would be a big deal, The Guardian, 29 May 2017
6 sexual rights many girls and young women in Guatemala are unaware of — until they meet these women, The New York Times, 25 May 2017
Academic
Towards a poststructural understanding of abortion and social class in England, Global Public Health, 13 Jun 2017
CDC Recommends Conception Strategies When an Uninfected Woman’s Male Partner is HIV Positive, OBG Project, 13 Jun 2017
RELATED: Strategies for Preventing HIV Infection Among HIV-Uninfected Women Attempting Conception with HIV-Infected Men — United States, CDC/MMWR, 2 Jun 2017
Progress in U.S. Women’s Well-Being Stalled in Recent Generations, PRB, June 2017
Angola
14 percent of women use contraceptive methods, ANGOP, 14 Jun 2017
Angola backs down on total abortion ban, AFP (via New Vision Uganda), 13 Jun 2017
Ethiopia
Nation Gets First Ever Maternal ICU, Ethiopian Herald, 15 Jun 2017
Blood Test for Maternal and Child Health, The Ethiopian Herald, 11 Jun 2017
Gambia
Njaboute Foundation setup in Kombo South District, The Point, 15 Jun 2017
Ghana
‘Engage children on aspects of reproductive health’, Graphic Online, 14 Jun 2017
Discussing abortion at the Youth Action Movement minicamp in Ghana, Youth Against Abortion Stigma, 14 Jun 2017
Slow down in giving birth to many children – Rawlings to Ghanaians, GhanaWeb, 11 Jun 2017
Kenya
Our Message on Day of the African Child, Centre for the Study of Adolescents, 15 Jun 2017
Mother-to-child HIV infections have reduced by half, Daily Nation, 14 Jun 2017
What is your choice contraceptive? Why the use of contraceptives has improved in recent years, The Standard, 11 Jun 2017
Big win for groups backing abortion, The Standard, 11 Jun 2017
Machakos County in Kenya launches family planning program, Advance Family Planning, 15 May 2017
We Are Kenya’s Future: Young People and Our Nation’s Growth, PRB, May 2017
Lesotho
Remember the Population Bomb? It’s Still Ticking, The New York Times, 15 Jun 2017
Liberia
Grand Bassa Health Districts Meet On Maternal, New Born Health, LINA, 10 Jun 2017
Malawi
38 female students impregnated at Bua CDSS in Mchinji, Nyasa Times, 14 Jun 2017
Help for Malawi’s victims of obstetric fistula, Deutsche Welle, 13 Jun 2017
Namibia
Hamu calls for intensified action on teen sexual health, NAMPA (via Lela Mobile), 12 Jun 2017
Nigeria
Making contraceptive a norm in Nigeria, Nigerian Tribune, 15 Jun 2017
‘We target 10 % increase in contraceptive prevalence rate in Oyo’, Nigerian Tribune, 15 Jun 2017
Contraceptives a game changer for crisis-affected women in northern Nigeria, ReliefWeb, 14 Jun 2017
Kaduna govt, UNFPA fund family planning with N600m in 2017, Nigerian Tribune, 14 Jun 2017
Let The Poor Have Babies, Stears News, 12 Jun 2017
Rwanda
Understanding natural methods of family planning, New Times, 15 Jun 2017
Your reproductive health rights, New Times, 14 Jun 2017
Senegal
Information, sensibilisation sur la santé : Les « Badianou Gokh » plaident pour plus de reconnaissance, Ouagadougou Partnership, 14 Jun 2017
Sierra Leone
New Birth Waiting Homes to Welcome Expectant Mothers in Sierra Leone, PIH, 5 May 2017
South Africa
Project gives hope in life, Netwerk24, 15 Jun 2017
Our vaginas are own affair, WhatsUpHIV, 15 Jun 2017
A new chapter for school-based sexual and reproductive health services is needed, MSF, 13 Jun 2017
SA lawyers: Motsoaledi, we’re not the reason gynaes won’t deliver babies, Bhekisisa, 12 Jun 2017
Tanzania
How do I pick the right birth control?, The Citizen, 12 Jun 2017
Uganda
Moroto mothers shun hospital over deaths, Daily Monitor, 13 Jun 2017
Dinnah Nabwire & Mary Ajwang: Raising awareness for reproductive health with Voices for Health Uganda, She Leads Africa, 13 Jun 2017
Limited Access to Family Planning Technologies Affecting Reproductive Healthcare in Kalangala, SOBUJA, 12 Jun 2017
Expectant mothers fight for space at Kagadi hospital, The Observer, 12 Jun 2017
Meet Jackqueline, a community health worker in her community in #Uganda who spreads the word about #familyplanning, Universal Access Project, 12 Jun 2017
Zambia
Female condoms shunned, Times of Zambia, 13 Jun 2017
Male MPs urged to fully participate in promoting Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, Lusaka Times, 12 Jun 2017
Speaker prods women MPs to drive sexual reproductive rights campaign, Lusaka Times, 10 Jun 2017
Zimbabwe
MPs clash on abortion law, The Herald, 13 Jun 2017
Fistula, child marriages: The stinky affair, The Herald, 13 Jun 2017
Hope for fistula survivors, The Herald, 13 Jun 2017