MEDIA
SUMMARY
June 16-30, 2009
TOP
STORIES
UN Addresses Financial Crisis, Announces New Funds For Achieving
Millennium Development Goals: IPS reported June 15, 23 and 27 and NPR reported
June 15 on United Nations efforts to address development issues in the midst of
the global economic crisis. At a UN General Assembly conference on the crisis,
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon criticized Western governments for providing less
foreign assistance while at the same time providing funds to prop up financial
institutions. The conference itself drew criticism for a lack of explicit attention
to gender issues and the effects of the crisis on women. June 15 also marked the
launch of a new UN initiative to provide funding for countries' efforts to meet
the health-related Millennium Development Goals, which target children's and mothers'
health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other communicable diseases. Read: IPS (June 26),
IPS (June 23), NPR, IPS (June 15)
UN Human Rights Council Passes Resolution
on Maternal Health: The Hudson Valley Press (New York) reported June 18 and
The Lancet (UK)published an editorial June 27 on the UN Human Rights Council's
passage of a landmark resolution that recognizes preventable maternal mortality
and morbidity as a human-rights issue. The Lancet wrote "The move is important
because a human-rights approach to maternal health places specific legal and ethical
obligations on states, such as the establishment of effective mechanisms of accountability."
Read: The Lancet, The Hudson Valley Press
Pregnant Women Face Risks in
Pakistan Conflict: The Statesman (India) reported June 22 on the added risks
faced by pregnant women displaced by conflict in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier
Province. The Huffington Post published a blog June 19 by Bill Ryan, UNFPA Regional
Communications Adviser for Asia and the Pacific, who noted "The hardships
of flight and camp life, compounded by restricted mobility, increase the normally
high risks women face during childbirth in this part of the world." Read:
The Statesman and The Huffington Post
U.S. Teen Pregnancy Draws Concern:
ABC News Primetime featured an hour-long report on June 17 exploring the experiences
of teen parents. A June 18 New York Times editorial focused on factors that contribute
to the U.S.'s high teen pregnancy rate: "According to a new report from Columbia
University's Mailman School of Public Health, contraceptive use by teens has declined
while their sexual activity has remained unchanged. This is a worrisome shift-and
it has bearing on the coming budget battle in Congress." Watch: ABC Read:
The New York Times
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ARTICLES AND OPINIONS BY SUBJECT
Sexual
and Reproductive Health and Rights
Abortion Restrictions Imposed
in Slovakia: Inter Press Service (IPS) reported June 26 on new limits on women's
access to abortion. These include: reporting requirements on doctors who perform
abortions, limits on the time period when women can undergo the procedure and
increasing the age at which women can obtain abortion without parental consent
from 16 to 18. Read: IPS
Abortion Law Reform May Backfire on Spanish
Prime Minister: Reuters published a blog by Jason Webb on June 23 analyzing
the political ramifications of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's effort
to reform the country's restrictive abortion law, including an unpopular provision
allowing women age 16 and over to seek abortions without their parents' consent.
Read: Reuters
U.S. House Committee Approves Bill Increasing Funds for
Family Planning: Congressional Quarterly Weekly reported June 22 that House
State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee approved $50 billion for
international affairs programs, including $648 million - $50 million above the
request - for "basic reproductive health services," while retaining
a ban on the use of U.S. funds to provide abortions.
Politics and
Women's Health in Kansas After Dr. Tiller: National Public Radio (NPR) reported
June 22 on the repercussions of the murder of late-term abortion provider Dr.
George Tiller on women's health and activism related to abortion rights in Wichita,
Kansas. It has been at the center of the abortion debate for decades, but since
Dr. Tiller's death activists wonder what will happen. Dr. Tiller was the only
abortion provider in Wichita and the clinic he ran closed after his death. Read:
NPR
Struggle for Abortion Common Ground Continues: US News &
World Report published a blog by Dan Gilgoff on June 29 on disagreements over
whether a White House plan seeking "common ground" on abortion politics
should incorporate both measures to expand federal funding for family planning
and sexuality education and providing financial support for pregnant women. Read:
US News & World Report
In Kenya, Patients Held Hostage to Medical
Bills: The Los Angeles Times reported June 27 on an increase in hospitals
detaining patients over unpaid medical bills. "They know very well these
people can never pay those bills," said Njoroge Baiya, a Kenyan lawmaker
who has raised the issue in parliament. "A more humane policy should be
developed." Read: Los Angeles Times
In Afghanistan, Few Rural
Women Use Family Planning Services: IRIN reported June 24 that, while family
planning services are available in more than 90 percent of health facilities in
Afghanistan, few women use them. Experts interviewed cited factors such as taboos
around sex and contraception and a shortage of female health care workers. Read:
IRIN
Reducing Maternal Mortality in Nigeria: The Daily Triumph (Nigeria)
published an op-ed by Cyrus Nyengibi Lilian on June 23 highlighting the broad
causes of maternal deaths and outlined strategies for combating them, including
improving access to medical care, including delivery care and safe abortion. Read:
Daily Triumph
Kenyan NGOs Work to Engage Men in Family Planning: Inter
Press Service (IPS) reported June 18 on the challenges for community health programs
that work to engage men in discussions and decisions regarding family planning,
and the ongoing need to dispel rumors about side effects of contraceptives. Read:
IPS
FDA Approves Generic Version of Plan B: The Wall Street Journal
reported June 26 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a generic
version of Plan B, the emergency contraceptive also known as the "morning
after pill", to be sold without a prescription in the United States. Read:
The Wall Street Journal
Appeals Court Upholds Virginia Abortion Restriction:
The Washington Post reported June 25 that a federal appeals court upheld,
by a 6-5 vote, a law making it a criminal offense for doctors to perform a rare
procedure often known as "partial birth" abortion. Read: Washington
Post
Guttmacher Institute Report Finds Unintended Births Rise in Nigeria:Voice
of America reported June 17 that despite major advances in women's education from
1990 to 2005, unintended pregnancy, early marriage and early births have increased
in Nigeria, according to a Guttmacher Institute study. Read: VOA
Women's
Equality
Clinton Highlights Trafficking Report Findings: The
Washington Post published an op-ed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
on June 17 highlighting the recently-released State Department's annual Trafficking
in Persons Report. Clinton highlighted the report's findings on "the root
causes of human trafficking-including poverty, lax law enforcement and the exploitation
of women-and their devastating effects on its victims and their families."
Read: Washington Post
Study Finds 25 Percent of Men in South Africa Admit
to Committing Rape: The Guardian (UK) reported June 18 on a study by South
Africa's Medical Research Council (MRC) finding that, of men surveyed, a quarter
admitted to having committed rape. "The social space for debating these gender
issues is now smaller than it was a few years ago. We need our government to show
political leadership in changing attitudes. We need South African men, from the
top to the grassroots, to take responsibility," said study co-author Professor
Rachel Jewkes. Read: The Guardian
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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