TRINIDAD: Women’s Group Says Public Backs Abortion Reform

During the visit of Jamaica's first female Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller late last month, her Trinidad and Tobago host, Patrick Manning, made a statement that most people here had heard already.

RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma Acquitted – but “The Struggle Continues”

As the rape trial of former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma wrapped up Monday with an acquittal for the defendant, calls were sounded for the verdict not to be seen as undermining the fight to curtail rape.

MEXICO: Zapatista Leader Reaches Out to Neglected Minorities

"They torture and kill us because we are different. But we are going to put an end to that from below, where the best people are found," Zapatista guerrilla leader ‘Subcomandante' Marcos said in the Mexican capital Wednesday, addressing a crowd made up of transvestites, homosexuals, prostitutes and indigenous people, who cheered him on.

HEALTH: A Weapon Against AIDS That Looks Just Like Hair Gel

"Mafuta" is the word used by Kennedy Mundia to describe the colourless, odourless gel that he wants 1,500 women in the Southern African country of Zambia to try out, starting next month.

RIGHTS: Kenya’s Parliament Hears that Women Who Say “No” Often Mean “Yes”

Although hopes were high that debate on a bill seeking harsher penalties for perpetrators of sexual violence in Kenya would be smooth sailing, discussions have already been marked by controversy.

EDUCATION-LATIN AMERICA: Let’s (Not) Talk About Sex

Although many countries in Latin America have laws stating that sex education must be made available in primary and secondary schools, these are implemented in a haphazard way, and in some cases not at all.

PAKISTAN: Courts, Clerics Resist DNA Tests for Paternity

Although Pakistan has fine DNA testing laboratories, these facilities remain closed to the public and results obtained from them are not recognised by the Islamic clergy and the judiciary.

LIBERIA: Political Will and Resources Needed to Cut Child Mortality

Of the ten countries in the world that have the worst rates of child mortality, six* are in West Africa - a region that has seen more than its share of repression and civil strife over recent years.

JAPAN: Foster Parents in New Role as Population Slumps

A government plan to boost Japan's fledgling foster parent system as a means of stemming the population slide has revived the social debate on abortion and sex education for teenagers.

HEALTH-AFRICA: “An Opportunity to Change the Course of History”

An Africa-wide campaign has been launched to halt HIV infections, this as the continent continues to be the worst affected by AIDS globally.

SOUTH AFRICA: The Shower That Washed Anti-AIDS Efforts Down the Drain

AIDS activists have expressed concern about a remark by former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma that he minimised his risk of contracting the AIDS virus during unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman, by taking a shower afterwards.

TRINIDAD: Fear of HIV Leaves Many Orphans Societal Outcasts

When his parents died from AIDS last year, John (not his real name) did not expect to be abandoned by his surviving relatives.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: Dead Mothers Don’t Talk

The current crisis of skilled healthcare workers could deal a fatal blow to the global anti- poverty campaign agreed to by world leaders six years ago, U.N. experts warned on World Health Day.

RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: Leaving Prostitution – Easier Said Than Done

"Everything revolves around money and without work there is no money," says 33-year-old Maria Xoagub*, a mother of three who earns her living as a prostitute. "Sometimes we try stopping going to sell our bodies in the streets, but when poverty takes over we are back there."

JAPAN: In Solidarity Against Female Genital Mutilation

When Hiroko Hashizume, 66, first heard of female genital mutilation (FGM) in some Muslim countries in Africa, she was deeply shocked and, later, overwhelmed by a desire to do something to stop the cruel custom.

HEALTH-US: Govt Watchdog Criticises Bush’s AIDS Plan

The priority given to abstinence-only strategies in U.S. Pres. George W. Bush's global HIV/ AIDS programme may be undermining the overall effectiveness of his administration's multi- billion-dollar AIDS-prevention efforts, according to a study released here Tuesday by Congress' Governmental Accountability Office (GAO).

CHILE: Comprehensive Care for Victims of Domestic Violence

Experts applauded the Chilean government's decision to provide comprehensive care for victims of domestic violence, although they warned of the enormous challenges remaining in this country and the rest of Latin America, where a large proportion of women have experienced violence at some time in their lives.

HEALTH-KENYA: The Little Pill That Could

Misoprostol. It's not exactly a household name as far as drugs are concerned; however, it has the potential to improve - and even save - thousands of women's lives in Kenya.

HEALTH-AFRICA: A Somber Outlook on AIDS

A former director of the United Nations Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa has painted a gloomy picture of efforts to bring the pandemic under control across the continent.

ARGENTINA: Transgender Community Faces Uphill Battle for Rights

Noelia Luna was born a man, but lives as a woman. She is unemployed, has lived with the same partner for 15 years and has three children. Her life seems fairly uneventful. But compared to other transvestites, transsexuals and transgenders in Argentina, she is a relative rarity: she is a survivor.

HEALTH: Brazil to Hand Out a Billion Free Condoms

As a key part of its vigorous campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS, the Brazilian government is planning to distribute over one billion condoms free of charge this year.