HEALTH-U.S.: Women Seniors Battle HIV/AIDS

Miriam Schuler cannot say enough about sex. Over bingo at the senior centre and on the street outside the grocery store, she discusses the topic with unabashed chutzpah, offering up hearty laughter and no-nonsense advice.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Reproductive Care a Work in Progress

With the world marking International Women's Day this week, women in South Africa might find themselves asking what benefits 10 years of democracy have brought them - especially in the important area of reproductive health.

HEALTH-UGANDA: Renewed War Against Teenage Pregnancies

"A baby boy weighing two kilogrammes was abandoned in Mulago hospital labour suite last evening. The mother, Peace Busingye, 17, had delivered earlier that day."

HEALTH-BURKINA FASO: Each Abortion a "Family Planning Failure"

Health workers in Burkina Faso have called for a more open discussion of issues related to sexuality and abortion. This follows the release of a report by the Demographic Research and Study Unit, which found that up to 8,000 illegal abortions take place each year in the country's capital, Ouagadougou.

HEALTH-MEXICO: Church Complains It Was ‘Ridiculed’ Over Pill

Roman Catholic Church officials in Mexico complain that they have been ridiculed by the media for opposing the morning-after pill, an emergency contraceptive, while Catholics are increasingly using birth control and have turned a deaf ear to threats of excommunication.

ARGENTINA: New Open-mindedness on Sexuality Has Its Limits

Although more and more people in Argentina say they are in favour of the legalisation of abortion, the free distribution of birth control, and access to tubal ligations free of charge, social prejudice against sexual minorities remains difficult to uproot.

HEALTH-KENYA: Activists Press for More Debate on Abortion Law

The contentious topic of abortion in Kenya was revisited Wednesday, during events to mark African Women's Health and Rights Day.

POPULATION-PHILIPPINES: Gov’t Hands Tied by Conservatives

Filipinos are becoming sexually active at a younger age, but the Philippine government feels its hands are tied by conservative groups, including the Catholic Church, that resist more active state involvement in population programmes and the use of artificial means of birth control.