The Lancet: FGM: the mutilation of girls and young women must stop Audrey Ceschia, senior editor at The Lancet “Feb 6, 2015, marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, a day to reflect on one of the most cruel of human practices — an ancestral tradition…

GlobalPost: Unsafe abortions kill 47,000 worldwide as U.S. politics interfere with lifesaving efforts John Seager, president and CEO of Population Connection “…We need to give women everywhere access to voluntary family planning services. Allow me to state the obvious: Fewer unplanned and unwanted pregnancies mean fewer abortions. … Sadly, though,…

Reuters: Hundreds of Tanzanian girls run away from home to avoid FGM “In a remote, deeply traditional corner of northern Tanzania, growing numbers of girls are running away from home to escape genital mutilation carried out during mass initiations. In the Tarime district of Mara region, bordering Kenya, the number…

Associated Press: Health groups say AIDS No. 1 killer of adolescents in Africa “…Global health organizations said Tuesday that AIDS is now the leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa, and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally. … Adolescent girls, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are most…

Huffington Post: PEPFAR, Nike Foundation and Gates Foundation Partnership Restores Hope for an AIDS-free Future for Girls Deborah Birx, ambassador-at-large and coordinator of U.S. government activities to combat global HIV/AIDS “…Despite success in other areas, like prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, HIV prevention efforts to date have not successfully addressed…

The Guardian: Somalia sexual offenses bill hailed as vital step towards lasting change “…The bill will define rape as a crime against a person, rather than a crime against morality, as it characterized at present. It will criminalize gang rape and introduce legislation against child marriage, human trafficking, sexual harassment,…

Associated Press: New rules to curb ‘epidemic’ of cesarean births in Brazil “Brazil has unveiled new rules aimed at stemming the South American nation’s ‘epidemic of cesareans’ and promoting natural births among private health care providers. Health Minister Arthur Chioro called Brazil’s obsession with cesareans, which account for more than…

Religion News Service/Washington Post: African church leaders worry about the ‘medicalization’ of female genital mutilation “International rights groups, churches, and activists are escalating campaigns against female genital mutilation now that a new practice has emerged in which girls are checking into hospitals to have the procedure. In what is being…

Al Jazeera: Dying to give birth in northern Kenya “…Home deliveries often turn tragic with either the mother or the child dying. Such deaths are dealing a blow to maternal health initiatives in northern Kenya, where even basic health care is inaccessible for many. … According to Kenya’s 2008-2009 Demographic…

U.N. News Centre: El Salvador: U.N. rights office welcomes ‘ground-breaking’ pardon of woman in abortion case “The United Nations human rights office [Friday] welcomed the ‘ground-breaking decision’ of the Salvadorian Legislative Assembly to pardon a young women’s 30-year sentence in an abortion case. Carmen Guadalupe Vásquez Aldana, who suffered a miscarriage…