Reuters: Costa Rica’s president says therapeutic abortions will be allowed “Costa Rica’s President Carlos Alvarado on Thursday issued a technical decree that will allow for therapeutic abortions in the Central American nation, despite opposition from religious and conservative political groups. On paper, a 50-year-old law allows a pregnancy to be…

The Guardian: Sierra Leone ordered to revoke ban on pregnant schoolgirls “Pregnant schoolgirls in Sierra Leone will no longer be banned from attending class or sitting exams, after a regional court ordered the immediate overturn of a ‘discriminatory’ policy that has denied tens of thousands the right to finish their…

Thomson Reuters Foundation: OPINION: It’s time to legalize abortion in Argentina Jessie Clyde, director of grantmaking and international partnerships at the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) “As Argentina’s new president takes office this week, he will be met with hope and high expectations. For many, Alberto Fernandez holds the promise…

The BMJ Opinion: We must change how we measure the impact of health spending on poor people if we are serious about “leaving no one behind” Sarah Thomson, senior health financing specialist at the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Strengthening, Tamás Evetovits, head of the WHO Barcelona Office for…

Ms. Magazine: The Persistent Danger of Trump’s Definition of ‘Unalienable Rights’ Elena Sarver, legal adviser at the Global Justice Center “The State Department’s newly formed Unalienable Rights Commission held its third public meeting [Wednesday]. It’s been six months since the commission was first announced in July 2019 by Secretary of…

Financial Times: North Korean defectors reveal wretched state of female healthcare (White, 12/10). Forbes: Physician Paul Farmer Reflects On Health Solutions Brought To Medical Deserts And The Places Still In Dire Need (Love, 12/10). Homeland Preparedness News: First Nipah Virus International Conference focuses global attention on Nipah solutions and threats…

Newsweek: The Trump Administration’s Grades for Sexual and Reproductive Rights Are In Bergen Cooper, director of policy research at CHANGE — Center for Health and Gender Equity “When it comes to protecting women’s human rights globally, along with sexual and reproductive rights, the U.S. government under President Donald Trump and…

Planned Parenthood Global/Medium: A Catch-22 for Women and Girls: How the Global Gag Rule Attacks the HIV/AIDS Response In this post, Chloë Cooney, senior director of strategy and programs for Planned Parenthood Global, and Caitlin Horrigan, director of global advocacy for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, discuss the impact of…

Thomson Reuters Foundation: OPINION: End epidemics by breaking down human rights barriers to health Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and Antonio Zappulla, chief executive of the Thomson Reuters Foundation “…Human rights-related barriers to health, some explicit, others expressed in behaviors and…

USAID/Medium: I’m Empowered and Resilient! I’m Living the Dream! In this post, Betty Kagoro, communications specialist at USAID’s Mission in Uganda, discusses PEPFAR’s DREAMS Initiative and profiles several women who are involved in the program in Tedum, Uganda. Kagoro writes, “USAID, through the DREAMS Initiative, is working with partners to…