South Africa is likely to be the first country in the world to host an adolescent HIV vaccine trial. Adolescents may be enrolled in late 2007. In the development and review of adolescent HIV vaccine trial protocols there are many complexities to consider, and much work to be done if these important trials are to become a reality.
Values, Policies and Rights
Enrolling adolescents in HIV vaccine trials: reflections on legal complexities from South Africa
Slack c , Strode A, Fleischer T, Gray G, Ranchod C: BMC Medical Ethics 8:5, 13 May 2007
Mozambique govt considers legalising abortion to stem maternal deaths
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), 29 May 2007
Citing a high rate of maternal deaths due to illegal, unsafe abortions, Mozambique policymakers are considering legalising the procedure. The country may eventually become one of only a handful in Africa where abortion is available on demand. The push for the new legislation, officially introduced earlier this year, has come from the Mozambican health ministry, arguing that unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of death among pregnant women in the country. Mozambique has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world.
Gender inequity is a crisis, envoy says
The Capital Times, 13 March 2007
Gender inequality is killing the women of Africa, a diplomat and international AIDS expert told a Madison audience Monday night. "I have come to the conclusion that the single most important struggle on the face of the planet is the struggle for gender equality," Stephen Lewis said to an audience of about 400 during his UW-Madison Distinguished Lecture Series talk in the Union Theater. He received a rare standing ovation after an impassioned speech. In Africa and in other parts of the developing world, gender inequality needs to be addressed, Lewis said.
Gender is an economic issue
Hindustan Times, 26 April 2007
This interview report on the launch of the report of the UN Economic and Social Survey of Asia and Pacific makes the more generally relevabnt point that gender related interventions have been regarded as "social" and given little attention until economic numbers have been put to the interventions. Calling for wider gender budget analysis, the report notes that the promotion of breastfeeding, for example, saves lives and saves million dollars on import of baby milk. Economic and social arguments should be used in advancing gender health.
SADC: Advantages of draft regional gender protocol
Mmegi, 20 April 2007
The proposed SADC Protocol on Gender and Development will enhance existing commitments to gender equality by providing accountability and monitoring mechanisms in the region, Assistant Minister for Labour and Home Affairs Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri said on Monday. He told a SADC Stakeholders Consultative Conference that that the draft Protocol on Gender and Development would bring a legally binding regional instrument and address emerging gender issues and concerns.
Advocates on International Women's day highlight discrimination, need to end impunity for sexual violence
Nichols: Reuters, 11 March 2007
Advocates worldwide on International Women's Day on Thursday highlighted issues such as gender equality, discrimination and the need for justice for survivors of sexual violence, Reuters reports. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said that although world leaders reaffirmed the importance of gender equality in "almost all countries, women continue to be under-represented in decision-making positions." He also said that the majority of the more than 100 million children who are not in school are girls and that women's "work continues to be undervalued, underpaid or not paid at all." In addition, violence against women continues "in every continent, country and culture" because it is concealed or condoned, Ban said. UNICEF director added that "No one, including the UN itself, is doing enough to end this terrible situation. We fail to treat it as a crime".
PHM Right to Health and Health Care Campaign update
People's Health Movement
PHM is embarking upon a global Right to Health and Healthcare campaign which involves coordinated national and international level action. The overall idea of the campaign is to change the international approach to health and development, and, via a ‘Global Action Plan on the Right to Health Care,’ convincingly show how quality essential health care services could be made available NOW to every human being on earth.
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
United Nations General Assembly
The purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.
WHO D-G highlights women's health needs on International Women's Day
Chan M: World Health Organisation, 7 March 2007
This year's International Women's Day was devoted to ending impunity for violence against women and girls. The Director General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Chan, began her speech with a reminder that women have particular needs and face specific health issues but, how the health needs of women are given neither the attention nor the prominence they deserve. Each year, for example, more than half a million women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth alone - a number that has hardly changed in 20 years.
10 000 abortions done in South Africa per week
The Argus, 3 February 2007
For South Africa's anti-abortion campaigners, 1 February 2007 is a day of sadness and mourning. But for the government and women's rights groups, it was a day for victory and celebration. Ten years ago, on 1 February 1997, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act came into effect, becoming one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world. Records show a steady access to services nationally and progress towards greater service provision. A 1998-2001 mortality study by the Medical Research Council (MRC) found there was a reduction of up to 91 percent in deaths from unsafe abortions. But detractors such as Doctors for Life and the Christian Action Network continue to decry its existence and have mounted one legal challenge after the next to have it scrapped.