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…

Guttmacher Institute: In Developing Regions, 23 Million Adolescents at Risk of Unintended Pregnancy, Not Using Modern Contraceptives Rebecca Wind, senior communications associate and divisional budget manager at Guttmacher, discusses findings from a new report on improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health, writing, “The report, Adding It Up: Costs and Benefits…

Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program’s “New Security Beat”: Free Lunch: The Development Argument for Taking Zika More Seriously Alaka M. Basu, a senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation and a professor of development sociology at Cornell University, discusses multiple potential public health and development benefits that…

Associated Press: Abortion rate steady in poor nations, plunging in rich ones “The rate of abortions in the developed world has dropped to an all-time low while remaining steady in poorer regions, where nearly 90 percent of the abortions worldwide occur, researchers say in a new study published Wednesday in…

Wall Street Journal: In Rural China, One-Child Policy Enforcers Push a New Message “For 30 years, Yu Huajian visited villages in rural China to remind couples to have just one child, to abide by the law and help the economy. He also pursued violators of the much-hated policy and oversaw…

NPR: What Kenya Can Teach The U.S. About Menstrual Pads “…In 40 states, plus the District of Columbia, pads and tampons are subject to sales tax. … But there’s a movement to fight these taxes, and several states have eliminated them. … Meanwhile, one country is way ahead of the…