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Monday, June 29, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Women's Health
ENVIRONMENT: Coping in a World of “Peak Water”
As more than 20,000 people meet in Istanbul for a major week-long conference on future management of the world's water supplies, women's groups are working to ensure that policy decisions about this critical natural resource take their concerns into account.RIGHTS-US: Ill Migrants Left to Languish Behind Bars
Clinical staff at U.S. immigration detention centres systematically abuse detainees in their charge, according to two reports by Human Rights Watch and the Florida Immigration Advocacy Centre (FIAC) that describe the medical care system in these facilities as "dangerously inadequate".
Q&A: Why Not Wages for "Women’s Work"?
Caring for children, ailing relatives and neighbours, cooking and cleaning - all of it feels like "work," but without the regular paycheque.
BRAZIL: Child Rape Case Revives Debate on Abortion
The case of a nine-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather has revived the debate in Brazil on sexual violence, the need to reform the abortion law, and the shortcomings of the health system when it comes to dealing with the few cases in which abortion is legal.MIDEAST: Women Migrant Workers With HIV Get Raw Deal
Thousands of Asian women flock to the affluent sheikhdoms of the Middle East annually, seeking jobs as domestic workers. For many this quest for a livelihood comes to a humiliating end when they test positive for HIV.ARGENTINA: Bold New Law on Violence Against Women
Argentina now has an ambitious new law to prevent, punish and eradicate physical, psychological and economic violence against women, in both the private and public spheres. But the big challenge, say experts, will be to put it into practice.CARIBBEAN: Culture of Sexual Coercion Exposes Women to HIV
The fight against widespread sexual violence in the Caribbean has been joined by a high-profile new women’s coalition that warns it could be a major reason for the spread of HIV among women and girls in the region.PARAGUAY: Nurses Seeking Greener Pastures in Italy
Graciela Samaniego has her bags packed. Along with a number of fellow nurses, she is ready to leave her job at a public hospital in the Paraguayan capital and fly to a city in northern Italy, where she will work in a nursing home.
Q&A: ‘ We Were Told To Go To The Mortuary’
Two understaffed and ill-equipped public clinics serving 600,000 people: it is in neighbourhoods like Dandora that the battle to reduce maternal mortality is won or lost.
HEALTH-UGANDA: Pads From Papyrus
The average income in the Kyenjojo district in western Uganda is less than a dollar a day. Spending twice that on a single sanitary pad is an unaffordable luxury for most women.HEALTH-BRAZIL: Older Women at Higher Risk from AIDS
The HIV infection rate in women over 50 in Brazil has more than tripled since 1996, making this population group the prime target of the government's HIV/AIDS prevention campaign during the carnival festivities.
DR-CONGO: How Many More Will Be Raped?
As people around the world celebrate their loved ones on Valentine's Day weekend, activists are working to ensure that the ongoing horrors of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are not forgotten.
DEVELOPMENT: Urgent Aid Sought for Victims of “Silent” Crises
The United Nations children's agency UNICEF said Tuesday that it must raise over a billion dollars this year to meet the basic needs of women and children in disaster zones worldwide, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Better Education Improves Health of Mothers and Children
A new UNICEF report reveals there is still much to be done to reduce infant and maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Failure to improve care for pregnant women and newborns threatens to undermine progress on all health-related development goals.HEALTH-NEPAL: On Course to Achieve MDG on Maternal Health
Impoverished Nepal has dramatically reduced maternal mortality cases from 540 per 100,000 live births in 2001 to the present 280 - a feat experts attribute chiefly to the legalisation of abortion.DEVELOPMENT: Africa May Face ‘Centuries’ of Poverty
Extreme poverty will continue to blight sub-Saharan Africa for another 200 years unless action to overcome it is intensified, a new report has suggested.HEALTH-LATIN AMERICA: Women Crusaders Against Epidemics
With cutting-edge science, social organisation and a strategy that puts an emphasis on prevention and environmental controls, Cristina Díaz and her team checked the spread of dengue in Cuba, while María Monroy did the same with Chagas’ disease in Guatemala.POLITICS-US: “No Surrender” for Hardline Abortion Foes
While the "March for Life - held annually on Jan. 22, memorialising the United States Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision - has always been one of the high points of the year for anti-abortion organisations and activists, next month's 36th annual gathering may be a much more somber affair.Q&A: Masculinity Doesn't Mean Macho
The rules for "being a man" that predominate in Latin America include "never saying no" to temptations out on the street, being "macho" - hanging tough - no matter what the risks, and above all, avoiding any characteristics or feelings that might be seen as feminine or cast doubts on one's masculinity.RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Abortion Decriminalised But Stays Controversial
While pro-choice groups have welcomed the recent decriminalisation of abortion in Victoria - Australia’s second most-populous state, where around 20,000 abortions are believed to be performed annually - anti-abortionists have vowed to continue opposing termination of pregnancies.
TRADE: Kibuzi Bananas Follow Ugandans to London
‘‘We have lots of orders for apple banana. There is a ready market for kibuzi in London. It is eaten from Monday to Monday. But how to get it there is the issue. Almost 60 percent of the cost goes to freight.’’« 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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