HEALTH: HIV-Positive Women Activists in Latin America Stand Tall

Patricia Pérez, an activist from Argentina who was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1986, has been nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism on behalf of women living with the AIDS virus. But her case is an exception to the rule.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: The Arrival of ”Homo Urbanus”

The year 2007 marks the birth of a new ''species'': Homo Urbanus. For the first time in history there will be as many city dwellers as rural inhabitants in the world.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Beef up Budget Allocations to Achieve MDGs

African states should put in place sufficient budget allocations and the right policies if the continent is to meet the global and regional health care targets that governments have committed themselves to, say campaigners.

HEALTH: Living in Portugal, Giving Birth in Spain

Drastic public health budget cuts in Portugal have led to the closure of emergency and maternity services and prompted protests against the government of socialist Prime Minister José Sócrates.

MEXICO: Legal Abortion No Longer a Distant Goal for Activists

Mexico could join Cuba and Guyana as the only countries in Latin America where abortion is legal in cases other than those involving rape or a threat to a pregnant woman's life.

CUBA: Growing Old Without a Staff to Lean On

Josefa Martínez, a Cuban woman in her forties, looked after her mother until she died, but she herself will not be so fortunate. "It was my decision not to have children and to dedicate myself entirely to my profession. Now I wonder, who will take care of me when I'm over 70 and no longer strong?"

DEVELOPMENT-ZIMBABWE: A Herculean Effort Is Needed

‘‘You cannot talk of halving poverty when our country is going in the opposite direction. We are totally lost,’’ says Maxwell Tambarare, a teacher in Chiredzi, a region to the south east of Zimbabwe.

HEALTH-CHILE: Teen Pregnancy Bucks Global Downward Trend

She is only 24 and has already had three children. The first was born when she was 14, the second when she was 20, and the third, who she gave in adoption, was born just a few weeks ago. Her story is a reflection of teen pregnancy and early motherhood, which are on the rise in Chile.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Flour, Sugar – Vehicles of Food Fortification Plan

Lack of vitamin A is associated with the deaths of 350 people a year in the Dominican Republic, where some 400 babies are born annually with brain and spinal cord defects caused by folic acid deficiency, according to official statistics. In addition, many women are at risk of serious complications during childbirth due to iron deficiency anaemia.

MEXICO: Law on Violence Against Women – Necessary but Not Sufficient

"This is the last time Patricia will be battered," says a radio spot about the law on violence against women, which entered into force this month. But will this hopeful statement come true?

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.

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.

ARGENTINA: Flaws in Acclaimed Sexual Health Plan

Three years after it got under way, Argentina's sexual and reproductive health programme has spread from 124,000 beneficiaries to 2.3 million. But monitoring by non-governmental organisations has brought to light some problems in its implementation.

NICARAGUA: Therapeutic Abortion Banned in Pre-Election Frenzy

Latin America is not the most liberal region in the world when it comes to abortion. But the decision by Nicaraguan legislators to hand down eight-year prison sentences to those who terminate a pregnancy to save a mother's life has astounded doctors, feminists, activists, diplomats and government officials alike.

GUATEMALA: Devoured by Malnutrition

The ambulance pulls off the road, just where a steep rocky track leads up to the remote Guatemalan village of Shumpá. The health professionals' mission is to save the life of a malnourished two-year-old girl.

HEALTH-SENEGAL: Clay as Delicacy and Danger

You can find them at the rear of the large shed in the market at the train station, amidst dust, shouts of laughter and the "thwack" of sacks being thrown onto pushcarts. These are some of the kaolin sellers that frequent the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Bringing Traditional Birth Attendants Into the Mainstream

In an ideal world, all of Africa's women would have access to clinics, nurses, obstetricians, medicines: the panoply of staff and equipment needed to make the process of giving birth as safe as possible.

NEPAL: Only Half of Women Know Abortion is Legal

As the 21st century began, more women were dying during childbirth in Nepal than in almost any other country and it was estimated that half of maternal deaths in hospitals were caused by unsafe abortions.

HEALTH-KENYA: ‘Break the Silence on Abortion’

Local communities have been urged to act as agents of change and break the silence on illegal abortions fuelling Kenya's maternal mortality.

POPULATION-INDIA: Crackdown on Sex Selective Abortions, Finally

For campaigners against the practice of selectively aborting unborn girls - that has already affected the gender balance in northern India - nurse Pooja Rani is something of a heroine.

RIGHTS-VENEZUELA: Step Back Renews Women’s Drive to Move Forward

A recent Supreme Court ruling that undermines the safety of domestic violence victims has galvanised activists in Venezuela, who vow to step up the fight against a scourge that the country's advanced gender-equality laws have so far failed to eradicate.