past media summaries

September 1-15, 2007

PUSH JOURNAL MEDIA SUMMARY

Senate Votes to Overturn Global Gag Rule: On September 6 and 7, the Associated Press and Voice of America reported that the U.S. Senate had approved a foreign aid bill to lift restrictions on family planning aid to overseas organizations that perform abortions or recommend the procedure as a family planning method. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.) proposed the amendment, but it faces opposition from President Bush who has threatened to veto any legislation that would change current policy. "The policy literally gags foreign organizations that receive U.S. AID [Agency for International Development] family planning funds," Boxer said. The underlying bill provides free contraceptives for organizations cut off from U.S. funding for counseling women on abortion. Read: Associated Press, Voice of America

New Initiative to Help World’s Poor: On September 5, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, BBC News and Agence France-Presse reported that Germany and Great Britain had launched their new International Health Partnership (IHP) with the help of other European nations, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the European Commission, the African Development Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The IHP will focus on combating diseases like HIV/AIDS, reducing maternal and child mortality and strengthening health systems with increased trained medical staff and new facilities. "Today we come together -- donor governments, health agencies and developing countries -- with the certainty that we have the knowledge and the power to save millions of lives through our efforts," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. Read: Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, BBC News, Agence France-Presse

On September 8, The Lancet published an editorial about the positive benefits of Britain’s new International Health Program (IHP). The Lancet praised the IHP for listening to the health needs of developing nations and working towards donor cooperation to provide sustainable results. “The language of the IHP says all the right things. National governments are to lead in formulating their own health plans, ending the reign of donor dictatorship. International and bilateral donors are to work to ensure that disease-specific approaches and mechanisms to achieve broad health system strengthening are mutually reinforcing, rather than opposing each other.” Read: The Lancet

Child Mortality Falls to Record Low: On September 13, The New York Times and the Washington Post reported that UNICEF announced that worldwide child mortality rates have fallen to a record low: 9.7 million deaths per year. The milestone reflects progress in malaria prevention, childhood immunizations, and breastfeeding rates. Ann M. Veneman, executive director of UNICEF, said: "The rate of child mortality has come down significantly over the years, particularly over the last half-decade, where we have really been applying a lot of the strategies to address the issues of child health." The New York Times, Washington Post

SAVING WOMEN’S LIVES

White House Again Denies UNFPA Funding: On September 7, the Associated Press reported that the White House has denied funding for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, for the sixth straight year. Again, it cited unfounded allegations that UNFPA is complicit in coercive abortions in China. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) called the decision "appalling," adding that a reversal "could have restored U.S. leadership in the eyes of the world on this critical issue." Instead, she said, “the Bush administration has once again turned its back on the planet's poorest and neediest women." Read: Associated Press

Birth Control Pills Offer Cancer Protection: On September 12, the Daily Mail (UK) and The Guardian (UK) reported on a new study, published in the British Medical Journal, of 46,000 women who had used birth control pills since 1968, which found that pill use cut the risk of cancer of any kind by 12 percent. Dr Anne Szarewski, from Cancer Research UK, said, "This is good news for women. It will be extremely reassuring that the pill is not linked to an overall increased risk of developing cancer, especially breast cancer, as this is what women worry about most." Read: Daily Mail, The Guardian

Antenatal Services Too Expensive: On September 12, The Tide (Nigeria) reported that the Women Information Network (WINET), a Nigeria-based NGO, said antenatal care in Nigeria is too expensive to combat high levels of maternal mortality. WINET is urging the government to provide free antenatal care to pregnant women and asking local health workers to take action to ensure healthy, safe pregnancies for all Nigerian women. Nigeria has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, with 800 deaths for every 100,000 live births. Read: The Tide

Former Senator Aims to Help Children: On September 7, The New York Times reported that former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist has teamed with Save the Children to make preventing child deaths in the developing world a priority issue. In Congress, Frist helped push increases in federal spending for HIV/AIDS programs. Save the Children said Frist will broaden the political discussion. “The children and mothers who die are in huts beyond the end of pathways with no direct access to political or media leaders,” said Charles F. MacCormack, president of Save the Children. “We need people who can walk into prime ministers’ and presidents’ offices.” Read: The New York Times

Indian Girls Gather to Stop Child Marriage: On September 10, Kantipur (India) reported that 76 young girls gathered in Kathmandu Valley in early September to raise the issue of ending child marriage. The meeting was organized by the Beyond Beijing Committee in collaboration with several large agencies and nonprofit organizations. The girls passed a seven-point declaration saying perpetrators of sexual abuse, harassment or exploitation should be punished and child marriage must stop. Read: Kantipur

Men Make a Difference in Women’s Health: On September 4, The Chronicle Newspaper (Malawi) reported on World Population Day events urging men to use their decision-making position to improve women’s health in areas like family planning, disease prevention and maternal mortality. "The care and support of an informed husband improves pregnancy and childbirth outcomes and can mean the difference between life and death in case of complications," said UNFPA Malawi representative Esperance Fundira. The theme of this year’s World Population Day was ”Men as partners in maternal health.” Read: The Chronicle Newspaper

New Surgery Helps Victims of FGM: On September 15, The Economist reported that a new surgical procedure to restore sexual sensation for victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) has been successful in Burkina Faso. Clitoris reconstruction surgery, pioneered by doctor Pierre Foldes, can restore a majority of sexual sensation to the genitalia of women who have undergone FGM. At least 75 percent of women in Burkina Faso have undergone FGM and more than 100 women have paid for clitoris reconstruction surgery since it became available there last year. Read: The Economist

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS

Pope Says Abortion “not a human right”: On September 9 and 10, Agence France-Presse and Reuters reported that while touring in Europe, Pope Benedict XVI told diplomats to do everything possible to raise birth rates and make their nations more child-friendly. He noted that the notion of human rights first originated in Europe and said supporting abortion undermines Europe’s commitment to human rights. Read: Agence France-Presse, Reuters

Secret Abortions Common in Philippines: On September 5, Reuters reported that abortion attempts by traditional healers, involving pounding on the lower abdomen to incite a miscarriage, are becoming more common in the Philippines. In 2008, the country will stop receiving family planning aid from the United States because the government supports natural family planning methods and refuses to provide subsidized contraceptives to the public. Advocates fear clandestine abortions will rise dramatically. "Supplies [of contraceptives] have already run out in many towns and cities so the situation is rather desperate," said Dr Alberto Romualdez, a former Philippine health secretary. Read: Reuters

Push to Legalize Therapeutic Abortion in DR: On September 10, Inter Press Service reported that a coalition of civil service groups in the Dominican Republic had proposed legalizing therapeutic abortion and abortion in the case of rape, incest, deformed fetus or danger to the mother’s life. The Dominican Medical Association supports therapeutic abortion to reduce the estimated 100,000 illegal abortions that occur there every year. Sonia Galván, executive director of the Women and Health Collective, said abortion "is a human rights issue" and that "it is an abuse to force a woman to carry a pregnancy that is caused by rape or incest, when it is she who must make the decision." Read: Inter Press Service

POPULATION

France Revels in Baby Boom: On September 14, the Calgary Herald (Alberta) reported that France is enjoying a state-sponsored baby boom, with an estimated total fertility rate of two children per woman. To deal with low birth rates, France initiated an extensive government program to encourage women to have children, offering benefits like extended paid maternity leave, health insurance and subsidized child care. France is expected to grow by 10 million to 70 million people by 2050, surpassing Germany to become Europe’s most densely populated country. Read: Calgary Herald

Couples Encouraged to Give Birth on Russia Day: On September 12, The Moscow Times and Radio Free Europe reported that in central Russia’s Ullyanov province, Governor Sergei Morozov had encouraged couples to take the day off to procreate on September 12, dubbed “Family Contact Day.” He offered prizes to couples who give birth exactly nine months later on Russia Day. The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to raise Russia’s birth rates after a population decline of more than 6.5 million people following the fall of the Soviet Union. "If you compare births with deaths during that period, the deaths outnumber the births by almost 12 million," said Valery Yelizarov, director of the Center for the Study of Population Problems at Moscow State University. Read: The Moscow Times, Radio Free Europe

Philippines “on track” for MDGs: On September 3, the Manila Standard reported on a new UN report to be released in October that poverty in the Philippines is down, falling from 39.9 percent in 1990 to 24.4 percent in 2007. The report also said the Philippines is “on track” to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of reducing malnutrition and child mortality, promoting gender equality, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and improving sanitation and access to safe drinking water by 2015. The UN report warned that the Philippines must watch maternal mortality, access to reproductive services and its rising population rate closely for continued progress. Read: Manila Standard

HIV AND AIDS

HIV Threat Changes Cultural Traditions: On September 7, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal reported that parts of Africa are changing their cultural traditions to incorporate male circumcision as an HIV-prevention tool. Recent trials have proved male circumcision reduces HIV infection by 60 percent, and it was recently endorsed by the World Health Organization. In Kenya, where more than 80 percent of men are circumcised, AIDS rates are significantly lower than the area average. Researchers are grappling with ways to incorporate circumcision into AIDS prevention programs while being culturally sensitive to local traditions and customs. Read: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal  

UNICEF and Private Group Team to Fight AIDS: On September 5, the Voice of America reported that UNICEF and Family Health International have joined forces to combat HIV/AIDS in five developing nations. The initiative will focus on Guyana, India, Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia and will spotlight preventing mother-to-child transmission and improving pediatric HIV care, especially in remote locations. "Today's memo of understanding clearly demonstrates both organizations' firm commitment to help overcome the very limited reach we currently have globally in helping mothers and babies access needed prevention and treatment services," said FHI Chairman Albert Siemens. Read: Voice of America

EDITORIALS and COLUMNS: On September 1, The Times (UK) published a column by science editor Mark Henderson about the recent outrage of Catholics over Amnesty International’s new liberalized stance on abortion. Once neutral on abortion, Amnesty now supports the procedure in the case of rape, incest and danger to the mother’s life. Henderson said intense opposition and protest from the religious community undermines their own humanitarian values. “Catholics and evangelicals are, of course, within their rights to decide which organizations to join and to support financially. They should ask themselves, however, whether they really think support for human rights means denying abortions to rape victims and women with ectopic pregnancies.” Read: The Times

On September 1, the News Scientist published an opinion piece by William Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute about the connection between population density and global warming. Laurance said high population density can lead to razed rainforests and increased greenhouse gases and to worse human strife by increasing demand for scarce natural resources. “Fortunately, rapid population growth is soluble. There is a simple means to slow it: educate women, especially about their reproductive health,” he said. “Giving women the option of contraception is the single most important factor in achieving the ’demographic transition’ in which a nation's population growth slows, longevity increases, and it starts to balance its numbers of young and older people.” Read: News Scientist

---

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.

If you would like us to add a name or remove your name from our e-mail list, please e-mail your request to PUSH Journal Clips

past media summaries