News Review – 10 March 2017 | Center for International Reproductive Health Training

Promoting contraception, family planning and reproductive health is not only good health policy; it is also a solid financial investment, a point emphasized around the world to mark International Women’s Day. One study by Guttmacher released this week which got a lot of attention stated that “The US would save $12 billion a year if every woman had access to birth control.” A Huffington Post article by Dr. Tedros Adhanom reflected on his time as Ethiopia’s health minister and concluded, Investing in Girls and Women is the Smartest Thing We Can Do. Similar economic empowerment articles appeared in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, among others, backed by another study from IPPF. The WHO stated, “Every additional year of schooling for a girl increases her future earnings by 10% to 20%.”

The Trump administration issued its first guidelines on ‘global gag rule’ implementation, saying simply that “any non-U.S. NGO will not furnish any assistance for family planning in USAID-recipient countries, or support other organizations that do so,” which is similar to the previous Bush administration policy. The policy is already being felt around the world. One commentary in South Africa noted that the country is still recovering from the Bush administration’s similar rule.

The general budget outlook of the US, which seems to call for drastic cuts in foreign aid, is put in perspective by the Center for Global Development: “A fifth of total health aid comes from the US Government, and it amounts to about US$10 billion a year according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. To put that number in perspective, it’s a third of the less than 1 percent of budget that USG spends on aid, and 16 percent of what Americans spend annually on pet food, i.e., not much….Though the US contribution to global health is small in absolute terms, it has an outsize influence on peoples’ lives.”

Ethiopia’s progress in providing safe abortion services was highlighted in a study published by BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth and got lots of attention in the healthcare world and in social media.

A new index published by the Population Reference Bureau looks at the external factors affecting youth access to family planning in nine countries (including Ethiopia): External Authorization, Age Restrictions, Marital Status Restrictions, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Youth-Friendly Family Planning Services and Community Support.

A nice visual story produced by the World Bank looks at incentivizing hospitals to improve maternal and child health care in Cameroon. It’s worth a viewing.

Complete News Review References:

General

The history of outlawing abortion in America, Jstor, 10 March 2017

The US would save $12 billion a year if every woman had access to birth control, News.Mic, 9 Mar 2017

Abortion Lobby Admits to Using Maternal Health to Promote Abortion, C-Fam, 9 Mar 2017

‘Global gag rule’ impact already being felt, family planning advocates warn, Devex, 8 Mar 2017

Justin Trudeau Announced a $650 Million Plan for Sexual and Reproductive Health on Women’s Day, Time, 8 Mar 2017

Sonia Adesara: Women’s reproductive rights must be protected, BMJ, 8 Mar 2017

She decides on her health, her future, WHO, 8 Mar 2017

Investing in Girls and Women is the Smartest Thing We Can Do, Huffington Post, 8 Mar 2017

5 Women’s Health Procedures Obamacare Covered That “Trumpcare” Doesn’t Require, Romper, 7 Mar 2017