SciDev.Net: Periods are the next frontier of humanitarian response “…The third ever Menstrual Hygiene Day, celebrated [May 28], is a sign that these issues are gaining wider recognition. It is also encouraging to find menstrual hygiene research beginning to shape the agendas of international relief organizations. … I rang Nicole…

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists”: Bold Ideas to Tackle Big Problems in Global Health and Development: Grand Challenges Explorations Round 16 Steven Buchsbaum, deputy director, and Rebekah Neal, program officer, both for discovery & translational sciences in the Global Health Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,…

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Faced with strict laws, Brazilian women keep abortions secret “…Roughly one million women each year seek abortions to end unwanted pregnancies in Brazil, where abortion is illegal except in cases of rape or incest or if the life of the mother is in danger. Brazil has raided…

Associated Press: Philippine population growth slows as contraceptives spread “The Philippines’ annual population growth rate has slowed as more people in the predominantly Roman Catholic country use contraception. … A national law that provides government funding for contraceptives was passed in 2012 despite strong opposition from Catholic church leaders. The…

Devex: 4 ways for the private sector to support women’s health Carolyn Rodehau, technical deputy for reproductive health workplace programs at Meridian Group International, Inc. and associate on the Evidence Project at Population Council “… In their supply chains in low- and middle-income countries, companies can be far more proactive…

U.N. News Centre: On International Day, U.N. urges end of obstetric fistula ‘within a generation’ “Obstetric fistula is a preventable and treatable condition causing added suffering and isolation to at least two million poor and marginalized women and girls worldwide, the United Nations spotlighted on the International Day to End…

Guttmacher Institute: In Countering Zika, Women’s Right to Self-Determination Must Be Central Rebecca Wind, senior communications associate and divisional budget manager at the Guttmacher Institute, discusses findings from a new analysis examining women’s reproductive rights and health in light of the Zika epidemic, writing, “In Latin America and the Caribbean,…

The Guardian: Sexual health gets little attention in a crisis, with devastating results Tewodros Melesse, director general of the International Planned Parenthood Federation “…[T]he demand for sexual and reproductive health care is much higher than normal in crisis situations. These are essential services and must form part of any humanitarian…

Center for Global Development’s “Global Health Policy Blog”: Failing to Deliver on Family Planning? Funding in Crisis Amanda Glassman, vice president for programs, director of global health policy, and senior fellow at CGD, discusses the impact of funding cuts to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), noting, “[O]n the current…

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Self-injectable contraceptives could be life-saver in Africa: health experts “Self-injectable contraceptives, which are being trialed in Uganda and Senegal, could revolutionize women’s lives in rural Africa and dramatically cut maternal and newborn deaths, health experts said on Tuesday. The disposable $1 device consists of a small needle…