The Food and Drug Administration, after more than three years of unprecedented political interference, finally agreed with its medical and scientific experts to allow women to purchase the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B® over-the-counter.
NARAL Pro-Choice America, along with other women's health advocates, rightly celebrated this decision as a victory for sound science and women's health over the Bush administration's attempts to block women's access to this safe, effective form of birth control.
I was pleased that UNFPA chose to focus its annual State of the World's Population Report on women and migration this year (read Tyler's full coverage of the report here). Even though half of all international migrants are women, there's an unfortunate (but not necessarily surprising) lack of data on how women experience migration differently than their male counterparts. Another UN study released this week hones in on the phenomenon in the Dominican Republic, where remittances constitute 13 percent of the gross national product, and more than half of the money comes from women. As the study reveals, even when women's labor is keeping their families afloat economically, social problems at home are still blamed on women's absence. Sheesh.
Sex, lies, and contradictions: This could have been the subtitle of Wednesday's Congressional hearing on the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The hearing, chaired by Congressman Chris Shays (R-CT) was called to review mounting evidence against one of the key restrictions under PEPFAR-a requirement (also known as an earmark) that one third of prevention funding go to abstinence-until-marriage programs-is undermining effective prevention programs on the ground because it is, in most cases, an "abstinence-only" program.
Naina Dhingra is the Director of International Policy at Advocates for Youth and serves on the Developed Country NGO Board Delegation of the Global Fund.
At Wednesday's government reform hearing convened by Congressman Chris Shays on the abstinence-until-marriage earmark, Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, testified that the U.S. government does not fund "abstinence-only" programs. Repeatedly, U.S. government officials have stated that PEPFAR prevention programs are not abstinence-only and follow an evidence-based ABC approach.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) held a briefing on its State of World Population 2006 report, which focuses on women and international migration. Titled "A Passage to Hope," the report highlights the role that women play in migration and its affect on their lives. The briefing featured Maria Jose Alcala (principal author of the report), Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY), Kathleen Newland (Director and co-founder of the Migration Policy Institute), and Professor Susan Forbes Martin (Georgetown University), moderated by Sarah Craven (UNPFA).
[img_assist|nid=538|title=State of the World Population Report|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=125] This articulate group of women spoke up about the benefits of migration for immigrants and their adopted countries, as well as the darker side of this issue.
Did you know that women making up half of all international immigrants in the world? This is no minority group with "special needs," as Newland pointed out. Women migrants may not be as visible as their male counterparts, but they outnumber men migrants in the United States. They typically work in less noticeable jobs - domestic and care-giving positions with private or semi-private employers instead of out in the public view. And yet they often don't have access to health services and are ignored by policy-makers.
Rep. Chris Shays held a hearing Wednesday to learn more about how the PEPFAR requirement that at least one third of prevention funding be directed to abstinence-only-until-marriage affects the ability of countries to effectively implement prevention initiatives and what steps can be taken to address concerns about limitations presented by the funding requirement.
Everyone agreed abstinence promotion - or more accurately delaying when people start to engage in sexual activity - should be part of prevention programming. The question at hand is whether there should be a requirement for a specific amount of money to be spent on this one aspect of programming.
No one could articulate how the earmark benefits HIV prevention programs. So, will Congress change the requirement?
Ahead of this November’s elections, Rewire will increasingly be looking at issues in the political landscape and how they relate to reproductive health.This is one of those cases.
Tuesday’s LA Times ran an article that included a quote few of you are going to believe.Under the headline “Christian Coalition is Splintering,” John W. Giles of the Christian Coalition (CC) of Alabama is quoted: “The Christian Coalition is drifting to the left.”
Talk of microbicides was the pulse of the 2006 International AIDS conference in Toronto, Canada. Microbicides moved from the sidelines to center stage, a paradigm shift of bold proportions. All who have worked hard to articulate the need for user-controlled prevention should feel proud and savor this moment. Congratulations!
Reaching this tipping point also means that we now need to adjust our messages. For the past fifteen years, the microbicide movement has focused on building the enthusiasm and momentum necessary to gain the attention, respect, and commitment of world leaders. If we are concerned about the long term success of our enterprise, however, we must help individuals develop realistic expectations regarding this new technology. As advocates with advanced knowledge and training in the field, we have a critical role to play in shaping future discourse.
In the spirit of back-to-school week, here is a quick RH pop quiz:
Question: Which country just announced a five-year, $2.5 billion campaign against HIV/AIDS?
Answer: India, the second-most populous country.
Question: What is the focus of that campaign?
Answer: Prevention. Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss announced that 80% of a new national campaign will focus on condoms as the best defense against HIV/AIDS. This is especially significant for the country with more HIV-positive people than any other country.
Question: How does this compare to HIV prevention strategy in the United States?
SaveROE.com, the blog of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), has been re-launched with a new design and some neat tools.SaveROE digests news related to reproductive choice in America and provides access to many of the campaigns and initiatives of PPFA.
