PUSH JOURNAL MEDIA SUMMARY

SAVING WOMEN’S LIVES

Landmark Conference on Maternal Mortality: On August 7, Newsweek reported that a landmark conference called Women Deliver will be held in London this October. Women Deliver will bring media, policymakers and advocates together to tackle the problematic issue of maternal mortality. One woman dies every minute of every day from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, and for every woman who dies, another 30 are injured or become ill. Newsweek added: “In fact, childbirth is the leading cause of death and disability for women of reproductive age--more dangerous than heart disease and AIDS. And children left behind are the secondary victims. They’re more likely to die because they are motherless.” Read: Newsweek

Group Moves to End Bride Price in Uganda: On August 13, New Vision (Uganda ) reported on an initiative by the Mifumi Project, a Tororo-based NGO, to end bride prices in Uganda in order to lower violence against women. Atuki Turner, a lawyer and executive director of Mifumi, said "The practice also discriminates against women; it treats them like property. The whole thing becomes commercialised, thus promoting elopement, cohabitation, domestic violence, unfaithfulness and divorce. The extortionist nature of bride price also inhibits men from marrying, condemns them to poverty and causes misery. This is the first petition of its kind in the history of women's struggle for emancipation in Uganda.” Read: New Vision

New HPV Vaccine for Adults: On August 14, Salon.com reported that a new HPV vaccine, Cervarix, is available on the Australian market for women too old for the Gardasil vaccine. Gardasil is prescribed for women 9-26 years old but Cervarix is available to women 27-45 years old. Australia has launched a nationwide initiative to vaccinate every school-age girl with Gardasil over the next two years. Similar initiatives have been dismissed in the United States for various reasons, including moral issues and drug costs. Read: Salon.com

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS

Amnesty International Unapologetic on Abortion Stance: On August 13, The Independent (UK) reported on the battle over abortion between Amnesty International and the Catholic Church. Recently, Amnesty International recognized that abortion is a viable option in areas where rape is used as a weapon of war. The Vatican publicly denounced Amnesty and called on Christians to cease financial donations to the group. "Amnesty International stands alongside the victims and survivors of human rights violations. Our policy reflects our obligation of solidarity as a human rights movement,” said Amnesty's deputy general secretary, Kate Gilmore “Ours is a movement dedicated to upholding human rights, not specific theologies. Our purpose invokes the law and the state, not God." Read: The Independent

Pope Relentless Against Abortion: On August 13, The Independent (UK) reported that Pope Benedict’s relentless opposition to abortion is clearly evident in his turn against the longstanding church ally Amnesty International: “The row with Amnesty marks a hardening of the Catholic Church's resolve to take on liberal figures and organizations which have formerly been seen as the church's natural allies; a greater readiness to insist that its convictions on subjects such as abortion, where the Church has no intention of compromising, are more important than alliances with people and groups whose roots and values are secular - values from which the church establishment feels estranged.” Read: The Independent

Debate Ongoing Over Plan B: On August 2, US News & World Report reported that although sales of the emergency contraception pill known as Plan B doubled this year, obtaining the drug can be difficult for patients. The number of pharmacists refusing to fill Plan B prescriptions has increased and they have gained support among political candidates who say erroneously that Plan B use equals abortion. Family planning advocates like U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) say contraception is a fundamental right. She has introduced legislation to require pharmacies to carry and dispense Plan B without delay. Read: US News & World Report

ACLU Joins Fight for Plan B Access: On August 14, the Associated Press reported that the Northwest Women's Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood are asking to intervene in court on behalf of patients who were denied prescriptions for Plan B in Washington State. By law, pharmacists are required to fill Plan B prescriptions, but two pharmacists and a drug store owner have filed suit saying the requirement violates their civil rights. Read: Associated Press

Rise in Births, Abortion Likely as USAID Pulls Out of Philippines: On August 14, the Associated Press reported that as USAID begins to phase out its 30-year family planning program that supplied low-cost contraceptives to the public, the Philippine government is unprepared and will promote “natural” family planning in agreement with the Catholic Church. Advocates fear a rise in maternal death, abortion and disease is likely without government-subsidized contraceptives. Alberto Romualdez, a former health secretary, said: "The problem is that the conservative elements of the church hierarchy seem to have the upper hand in getting access to the president's ear. That is why her policies reflect the extreme conservatism of those who oppose any kind of family planning," Read: Associated Press, Sun Star

Ghanaian Parents Told to Demystify Sex: On August 3, the Public Agenda (Ghana) reported that the Ghanaian President's Special Adviser on Reproductive Health, Professor Fredrick Torgbor Sai, has urged parents to talk to their kids about sex, in order to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS and reduce unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Ghana has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and an estimated 68,000 women die annually due to unsafe abortions. A representative from the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Glory Asare, said "We have to work hard to meet the challenges of maternal mortality in the country." Read: Public Agenda

Abortion Under Attack in Latin America: On August 9, Time magazine reported that despite a comeback by leftist politicians and liberalized abortion laws in some Latin American nations, abortion is under attack in most of the region. The success of liberalized abortion laws in Mexico City and Chile is overshadowed by last year’s abortion ban in Nicaragua and stalled progress in relaxing laws in Venezuela and Chile. Bolivia, a nation of largely indigenous people, will likely ban abortion in its new constitution this fall. Read: Time

FGM Gets Little Opposition in Sierra Leone: On August 8, the Inter Press Service reported that activists and politicians against female genital mutilation (FGM) are getting little support in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Sierra Leone for their call to eradicate the practice. Secret “bondo” societies comprised mostly of women view the practice as an initiation into womanhood. Even though speaking out against FGM is considered political suicide, some candidates say the issue is too important to remain silent. "We need to educate our people. We need to get them involved, to make them understand the dangers of the Bondo society," Zainab Karama of the Sierra Leone People's Party told IPS. "For it [FGM] to be eradicated we have to sensitize our people." Read: Inter Press Service

Ultrasounds Assist Gender-biased Abortion:  On August 7, the Press Trust of India reported that Indian newspapers based in Canada are advertising ultrasound clinics to Indo-Canadians, a practice it said could be used to identify the gender of a fetus and possibly promote female feticides. "It's really, really sad that some newspapers, for the sake of money, are misleading the public. The end result is they will tell the sex of the baby so that people that don't want baby girls can abort it," said Charan Gill of the Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society in British Columbia (BC). Read: Press Trust of India

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Tanzanian Women Lift Themselves Out of Poverty: On August 12, the Buffalo News (New York) reported that a program in Tanzania called WORTH Women is a new approach to microcredit lending to lift women out of poverty. The USAID-funded program focuses solely on women in rural areas, doesn’t use any outside money and teaches women to pool financial resources, look for retail opportunities and keep financial records. Victoria Munene, a Tanzanian native who oversees empowerment workers in the Kilimanjaro area, said she is amazed by WORTH’s success. "The results are very good because women have been able to move forward," Munene said. "People are getting loans of less than five dollars and they're starting up businesses. They have started to put their children in school." Read: Buffalo News

Groups Push for African Women’s Bank: On August 7, Agence France-Presse reported on the upcoming Pan-African Women Conference in October and its focus on bringing women out of poverty with savings and loan options, including a bank solely for women’s use. Nigeria's 'Glorious Women' group plans to start a pan-African women’s bank to give women financial opportunities and stability. "You cannot fight poverty if you are not ready to save money. Our goal is the creation of a pan-African bank for women before 2010," said Director Eno Ben-Udensi. "Poverty is the cause of violence, crime, unemployment, divorce, prostitution. That's why we are focusing on this issue." Read: Agence France-Presse

HIV AND AIDS

HIV Rates Decrease In Kenya: On August 14, Africa News reported that new statistics released by the Kenyan National Aids Control Council (NACC) found declines in overall HIV prevalence and new infection rates. Prevalence of HIV declined from 6.1 per cent in 2004 to 5.1 percent in 2006. Kenya is one of three African nations where AIDS initiatives have showed progress, but advocates say the battle against HIV is continuous. "These figures illustrate the magnitude of the inherent task in providing prevention, treatment, care and support services to ensure universal access." said NACC director Prof. Alloys Orago. Read: Africa News

South African Deputy Health Minister Fired: On August 9, the Associated Press and The New York Times reported that South Africa's deputy health minister, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, was fired by President Thabo Mbeki for attending an AIDS conference without permission. Madlala-Routledge was credited with revamping the nation’s HIV/AIDS campaign and criticizing her colleagues who suggested ineffective herbal remedies over antiretroviral drugs. "This is a dreadful error of judgment that will harm public health care and especially the response to the HIV epidemic," the Treatment Action Campaign said in a statement. "It indicates that the president still remains opposed to the science of HIV and to appropriately responding to the epidemic." Read: Associated Press, The New York Times

Health Minster Says HIV Declining in South Africa: On August 2, the Associated Press reported that South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the overall prevalence of HIV-infected pregnant women has dropped from 30.2 percent in 2005 to 29.1 percent in 2007. Physicians agree the change is positive, but say the results are too close to the margin of error to be significant. Many fear that Tshabalala-Msimang, who was criticized for questioning the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs, is using the statistics for a political agenda. "The thing that is critical is a decline in the incidence rate of new infections," said Nathan Geffen of the Treatment Action Campaign, which has repeatedly criticized the government for lack of political leadership on AIDS. Read: Associated Press

HIV Moms Should Have Abortion Option: On August 9, Cape Argus reported that Health Systems Trust of South Africa announced that it supports access to safe abortion services for HIV-positive pregnant women as part of the nation’s reproductive healthcare system. Having legalized abortion, South Africa has reduced a burden on the health care system and lowered rates of maternal mortality. "In addition to measures to prevent perinatal transmission, and to offer HIV-positive women high-quality antenatal and post-natal care, the option of voluntary abortion should be offered as part of the continuum of care for HIV/AIDS," said Health Systems Trust chief executive Dr Lilian Dudley. Read: Cape Argus

Former Sex Slaves Raise HIV Rates: On August 1, The New York Times and the Associated Press reported that a new study by the American Medical Association, focusing on Nepal and India, found that girls forced into prostitution by age 15 were at higher risk for HIV. Once they return home, many are shunned by their communities and families and so turn to prostitution again, increasing community infection rates. Aurorita M. Mendoza, formerly of UNAIDS, the United Nations AIDS agency, called the study “very important….It’s the first I know of that’s linked HIV to sex-trafficked girls.” Read: The New York Times, Associated Press

EDITORIALS and COLUMNS: On August 6, the Chicago Tribune published an editorial calling on Congress to spend money more effectively on sex education. Recently, Congress approved US$204 million for abstinence-only sex education despite overwhelming evidence that such programs are ineffective at delaying sexual activity and preventing STDs, unwanted pregnancy and abortion. The Tribune wrote: “If Congress is going to put money into sex education in schools, it ought to promote broader programs that stress abstinence, but also include information on the correct use of contraception and the treatment and testing of sexually transmitted diseases.” Read: Chicago Tribune

On August 7, The New York Times guest columnist Judith Warner discussed the loopholes in the Supreme Court ban on partial-birth abortion, which could incriminate doctors performing legal second-trimester abortions if medical complications arise. Warner said the ban’s defining language could be misconstrued to criminalize many life-saving procedures deemed necessary by physicians. “The true intent of the partial-birth abortion ban is clear: the point is not (in the short term) to stop seemingly brutal fetal deaths, but rather to make all abortions as burdensome, as difficult and as emotionally and physically trying for women — and for doctors — as possible.” Read: The New York Times

On August 6, the Trinidad and Tobago Express published a column by Tony Best about the Bush administration’s blatant ignorance towards rising HIV/AIDS rates in the Caribbean. The Caribbean has the highest number of HIV-infected people outside sub-Saharan Africa. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) only distributes aid to Guyana and Haiti despite pleas for aid from other Caribbean nations. “Washington appears to be saying that Barbados, The Bahamas and others can fend for themselves, even if it means borrowing large sums of money to buy anti-retroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS victims so they can live longer.” Read: Trinidad and Tobago Express

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The above summary is produced by the Communications Consortium Media Center, 401 Ninth Street, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20004, 202.326.8700. Redistribution is encouraged with credit to CCMC.

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