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Tuesday, June 30, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Women's Health
PORTUGAL: Legal Abortion After Decades of Struggle
It took more than three decades of struggle by activists for Portugal to give the green light, via referendum, to parliament to make the country's strict anti-abortion law more flexible.EDUCATION-MOZAMBIQUE: Orphans’ Choice: School or Survival?
The school year kicks off in Mozambique with more children enrolling for primary school than ever in the past. But educational prospects remain bleak for orphans like Regina Massango.PORTUGAL: Graphic Leaflets Backfire on Anti-Abortionists
Just when those in favour of legalising abortion in Portugal were faltering in the polls, a hair-raising campaign against voluntary termination of pregnancy could backfire against the anti-abortion cause, instead of winning over more supporters.HUMAN RIGHTS-MALAWI: Violence Threatens Women’s Meagre Gains
Chanju Mwale is a true role model. Not only does the 28-year-old possess good academic credentials as a lawyer, landing her the job of the Malawi Defence Force’s legal officer, but she is also the only female officer in the force who holds the rank of captain.HEALTH-LAOS: Women Recruited Into War on Bird Flu
Women from ethnic communities in the hilly, northern part of Laos have, for over a decade, been drawn into poultry breeding as a means of combating poverty.DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Calls for Science and Self-Reliance at AU Summit
To tackle the great development challenges the African continent faces, leaders gathered in the Ethiopian capital for the two-day, bi-annual summit of the African Union (AU) pointed to science and self-reliance as important tools.HEALTH-MEXICO: Condoms and Sexual Tolerance in the Hands of a Detractor
Using a condom is not safe, the "morning after" pill is an abortifacient, and campaigns in favour of sexual tolerance promote homosexuality. These are some of the ideas of Mexican Health Minister José Córdova that are alarming social activists and analysts.WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: End to HIV/AIDS a Tall Order in Face of Violence
The issue of violence exacerbating the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly in women, has remained a hot one at the World Social Forum (WSF), taking place here this week.HEALTH: More Children With HIV, But Also More Getting Treatment
The world's response to protect and support HIV-infected and AIDS-affected children remains "tragically insufficient", but that is beginning to change, according to a new report by the U.N. children's agency UNICEF.CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Pregnancy Is a Dangerous Pursuit in Zambia
"Being pregnant in Africa is like having an unknown disease," says Zambian mother Alice Tembo, referring to many of her compatriots' lack of basic knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth.HEALTH-PAKISTAN: Obstetric Fistula – Grim Reminder of Unmet MDGs
''I wouldn't have thrown her out but would certainly have remarried,'' says Mohammad Qasim easily, sitting in a verandah at the Koohi Goth Maternity Centre in the suburbs of this southern port city.ENVIRONMENT: Indoor Air Pollution – Silent Killer of Women
Women and young girls coughing and choking as they cook food over traditional stoves that burn wood, leaves or dung is a common a sight in poor homes across Asia, Africa and Latin America. But no one notices the deleterious effects.HEALTH-MOZAMBIQUE: Healers’ Practices Under the HIV Spotlight
A motley group of about 20 men and women eyed each other tentatively as they met for the first time to discuss how they could jointly fight HIV/AIDS.HEALTH-NEPAL: Mobile Camps Treat Uterine Prolapse
While women in the capital Kathmandu fight for representation on the political bodies designing the 'new Nepal', in the remote western region Bhakti Oli has just claimed her right to health care after more than 35 years.HEALTH: U.S. Gag Rule Killing Women, Experts Say
While world attention has focused on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, public health experts say that U.S. political interference and declining financial support for family planning, abortion and prevention of other sexually transmitted infections has contributed to shockingly high death and disability rates in developing countries.AFRICA: Women Take Some Steps Ahead of the West
About half of the parliamentarians in Rwanda are women; many other African countries have more women in parliament than some western ones. It's taken some doing, as Gertrude Mongella knows - and as she tells IPS in an interview.POLITICS-US: Foe of Birth Control to Head Family Planning
Women's groups, health advocacy organisations and 21 members of the U.S. Congress are strongly lobbying against the recent appointment of an anti-birth control activist as head of the nation's family planning programme.WORLD AIDS DAY: In Haiti, Gender Can Mean Life or Death
For a rare dose of optimism, stop by the oldest private HIV research centre in the world. Fight your way through the chaotic, filthy streets of downtown Port-au-Prince, through a crowd of men, women and children awaiting care, and you'll find Dr. Jean William Pape, smiling in a crisp white medical cloak.RIGHTS: Will FGM Fatwa Make a Difference?
Om Samar didn't believe the news. "Muslim scholars banning (female) circumcision? This must be a joke," she said.COTE D’IVOIRE: A New Approach to HIV/AIDS in the Blackboard Jungle
Education officials in Côte d'Ivoire are revising how children are taught about the dangers of HIV/AIDS in the West African country, this as statistics from June 2006 show prevalence in schools to be at four percent.POLITICS-US: More Scientific Sleight of Hand
Most abstinence-until-marriage education programmes in the United States - which receive about 158 million dollars annually from the Department of Health and Human Services - are not reviewed for scientific accuracy before they are granted funding, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office released this week.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Worldwide, women’s health is a serious issue. The result of a wide diversity of factors, most notably insufficient access to education, women’s health issues must be addressed. Without access to proper schooling, many girls grow up without the necessary understanding of reproductive health. Due to this, reproductive issues and sexually transmitted infections plague women in developing countries. Women struggle to battle infections such as HIV. The lack of relevant services, coupled with the lack of women’s rights pertaining to their own health, are some of the serious issues that these stories seek to explain.
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