Reproductive Health News and Research

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Recent releases in Global Health

African Nations Rightly Proceed With DDT Plans: "Environmental activists inside and outside UNEP love to hate DDT and will seemingly stop at nothing to ensure it is never produced or used. But there is a macabre irony in their anti-DDT campaigns. With all the technological advancement of the 21st century that now ensures the average person born today will live longer than at any time in human history, SADC will be producing a chemical first synthesized in the 1800s.

30 Apr 2011

The AFA completes yearlong fertility educational series

The American Fertility Association is pleased to announce the completion of a yearlong fertility educational series which was funded by Attain Fertility Centers.

30 Apr 2011

Abortion-rights supporters face tough choices about where to focus efforts

News outlets also report on restrictive legislation advancing in the Florida and Kansas legislatures. Meanwhile, funding issues related to Planned Parenthood continue to receive attention.

30 Apr 2011

Planned Parenthood offers free STI tests during Take Action Tour concert

To help reduce the alarming rate of sexually transmitted infections among young people, Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania will give away vouchers for free or low-cost HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea testing during Hopeless Records' Take Action Tour concert at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 23rd, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

25 Apr 2011

New trial in UK to test whether statins could be used to treat pre-eclampsia

Pregnant women could benefit from a pioneering trial that will test whether heart disease drugs can be used to treat pre-eclampsia.

21 Apr 2011

Study shows possibility of women living with AIDS to breastfeed with lower risk

In low-income countries, 1.4 million women are living with the Aids virus. If no prevention measures are taken, the risk for future mothers of transmitting HIV to their child in utero, during delivery or when breastfeeding is 35%.

20 Apr 2011

NVP-BEZ235 inhibits growth of ovarian cancer cells, increases survival: Study

An experimental drug that blocks two points of a crucial cancer cell signaling pathway inhibits the growth of ovarian cancer cells and significantly increases survival in an ovarian cancer mouse model, a study at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.

16 Apr 2011

U.N. report highlights concerns about population-related activities funding

Financial support for population-related activities worldwide has not significantly increased since 2008, according to a report (.pdf) from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the U.N. Commission on Population and Development (CPD), Inter Press Service reports. The CPD is meeting this week.

15 Apr 2011

Budget agreement preserves funding for Planned Parenthood, Title X and the health law

President Obama and Democratic and Republican congressional leaders reached a last-minute deal Friday to avoid a government shutdown. The agreement, which came after days of partisan sparring and rhetorical drama, would fund the government through the end of September and cut $78.5 billion compared to Obama's proposed but never enacted fiscal 2011 budget.

11 Apr 2011

NEJM: Perspectives from Aaron, Reinhardt, Iglehart, Annas, Chambers and others

This week's New England Journal of Medicine features perspectives from prominent authors on Medicare and Medicaid. NEJM granted KHN permission to excerpt substantial portions of these columns.

8 Apr 2011

Roundup: Minn. approves deep health spending cuts; Mass. voters say state health law not working

In a pioneering bid to streamline the state's big health insurance programs, the Legislature's new Republican majority is poised to give thousands of low-income Minnesotans vouchers to buy coverage in the private marketplace.

8 Apr 2011

Study links partner controlling behaviors to high relationship violence rates

Having a significant other who exhibits controlling behaviors appears to be associated with increased physical and sexual relationship violence, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, young women experiencing these behaviors are more hesitant to answer questions about relationship violence.

5 Apr 2011

USAID Administrator testifies before State, Foreign Ops subcommittee about FY12 budget, expresses concerns about FY11 budget cuts

In a hearing regarding the FY12 budget before the House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations subcommittee earlier this week, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah highlighted the possible impact of the FY11 budget cuts currently being debated in Congress, Foreign Policy's "The Cable" blog reports.

1 Apr 2011

African governments must commit more funds to health to meet previous commitments, WHO, UNFPA say

Ten years "since heads of state of African Union countries met in Abuja, Nigeria, and pledged to set a target of allocating 'at least 15%' of their annual budget to improve the health sector, only Rwanda and South Africa have reached the objective," according to a recent WHO report, BMJ News reports/

1 Apr 2011

IOM report: Researchers must engage LGBT population in health studies

Researchers need to proactively engage lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in health studies and collect data on these populations to identify and better understand health conditions that affect them, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

1 Apr 2011

Scott Brown goes on record against efforts to choke planned parenthood funding

Brown joins Republican Sens. Susan Collins, of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, in opposing the measure. The Republican-controlled House voted last month to pass the proposal, which would cut all federal funding to Planned Parenthood and eliminate a program called Title X, which provides aid for family planning and reproductive health.

24 Mar 2011

African delegates call on countries to do more to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV

Delegates from 15 African countries this week concluded a three-day workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya, examining how countries can improve their efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, VOA News reports.

19 Mar 2011

Ambry, LABS partner to offer new donor and patient screening options

LABS, Inc., the recognized leader in microbiology, infectious disease screening, cell/molecular biology and immunological testing for the transplant and biomedical sciences communities, today announced an agreement with Ambry Genetics, a global leader in molecular diagnostics and genomic services to the healthcare and life sciences industries, that will allow the organizations to provide superior testing services to a broader base of clients in the reproductive health industry.

16 Mar 2011

GOP's new short-term budget fix does not include health cuts

Buying more time for budget talks, the House Appropriations Committee unveiled a three-week stop-gap bill Friday that will carry the government through April 8 while Republicans and the White House try to hammer out a spending plan for the second half of this fiscal year.

14 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Gambling on entitlement cuts; 'culture war' over family planning; insurance premium 'gouge' in Calif.

The House Republicans are rolling the political dice. They've pledged that in their budget for next year they will offer detailed proposals for curbing spending on "entitlements" — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. When Democrats heard this, their world suddenly brightened. One congressional aide dismissed the Republicans as "suckers".

4 Mar 2011