The Economic Costs of Abortion Restrictions
Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including abortion, is critical for the health and well-being of people everywhere. In addition to underpinning people’s health and rights, there is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the importance of such access in economic terms. The advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights has helped … Read More »
The Shadow Pandemic: Addressing gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic
Significant progress has been made in improving the lives of health services — have been overwhelmed, shifted priorities, or women and girls around the world in recent years. More girls are enrolled in primary and secondary education, the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has seen an overall decline, and millions of child marriages have … Read More »
Separate Policies, Similar Harm: The Global Gag Rule and the Helms Amendment
As the world’s number one global health donor, the U.S. has an obligation to support the provision of equitable, accessible health care globally. However, there are two major policies that currently interfere with and disrupt essential health care services: the “global gag rule” (GGR), and the Helms Amendment. These policies have devastating impacts on safe … Read More »
The Need for Comprehensive Sexuality Education in the United States
Comprehensive sexuality education, or CSE, is important to the health, well-being, and overall academic achievement of all students in the United States. It can contribute, as well, to improved gender relations and tolerance of differences among individuals, increasingly important in today’s world. CSE is evidence-based sex education that can be used as a tool to … Read More »
Population, Health, and Environment (PHE)
In a world increasingly threatened by environmental degradation, integrated approaches are needed to cope with climatic changes, deforestation, desertification, shrinking wildlife populations, unsustainable farming practices, and the collapse of fisheries. Livelihoods in impacted communities are being destroyed. Many of those communities are already among the poorest in the world, and because they lack access to … Read More »
Reshaping of the lower federal courts: What is at stake for reproductive health and rights?
A great deal of attention is paid to possible openings on the Supreme Court, especially now with the vacant seat opening since the recent death of beloved Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. However, only a small fraction of legal cases ever makes their way to the highest court in the land. Much of what is decided … Read More »
Covid-19 Crisis in Africa
After a relatively late start, the COVID-19 pandemic is gathering force in Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the novel coronavirus could infect up to 44 million people and kill up to 190,000 in the first 12 months of the epidemic, depending on the success of containment measures. An early United Nations report … Read More »
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights During Covid-19 Crisis
The novel coronavirus pandemic affects all segments of society; however, women and girls face special challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic has major implications for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). There is growing concern about the impacts that the pandemic, pandemic related restrictions, and the resulting economic disruption are likely to have on SRHR … Read More »
The African Sahel
Nations in the African Sahel, the semi-arid region south of the Sahara Desert, face significant demographic challenges. The region, which is one of the poorest in the world and also one of the most food insecure, has some of the highest population growth rates in the world. Climatic changes—rising temperatures and severe droughts—are contributing to … Read More »