Population Action Blog http://www.populationaction.org/blog/ en Copyright 2010 Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:50:14 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification PAI celebrates International Youth Day By Kristine Berzins and Patricia Becus

Moses Mpali-Taire lives in a society where you don't talk about sex.

Yet during the past year, he and other members of the Teenage Education Health Centre Uganda have been busy training other young people to lead sexual and reproductive health clubs in their communities.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/08/pai-celebrates-international-y.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/08/pai-celebrates-international-y.html Young People's Initiative family planning reproductive health services SRHR Young People`s Initiative Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:50:14 -0500 Why is the Kenyan constitution so important to right-wing America? A few weeks ago, I opened my inbox to find threats of damnation and dire consequences. It was one of those emails, making the rounds in Kenya these days, filled with warnings about abortion, moral decay and a Muslim takeover that would surely result if Kenyans approve a new constitution for our country.

 

For several decades, Kenyans have been involved in the search for a new constitution. After a long and uncertain process, a draft constitution was finalized in May 2010 and a referendum on the same was held today. Several surveys and opinion polls have shown that an overwhelming majority of Kenyans, more than 60 percent, approve of the new constitution.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/08/why-is-the-kenyan-constitution.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/08/why-is-the-kenyan-constitution.html International Policies constitution Kenya SRHR Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:45:15 -0500 Kids, Condoms, Controversy Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide.

Cross-posted with OtherWords.

A few weeks ago, a tiny resort community on the tip of Cape Cod found itself at the center of a national firestorm. Media descended in droves. People called the town "absurd" and "disgusting." Even the governor of Massachusetts got involved.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/07/kids-condoms-controversy.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/07/kids-condoms-controversy.html Condoms and Contraceptives Count Reproductive Health Supplies U.S. Policies condoms contraception youth Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:53:53 -0500 Adding "Forced" Bachelors to "Missing" Girls: The Gendered Outcomes of China's Population Policy I recently attended a 30th anniversary celebration in Beijing for the China Population and Development Research Center, which hosted an international seminar on demographic research.   Those were the same 30 years that China has restricted its citizens to having what now amounts to around 1.5 children.  While the label "one-child policy," has always been a misnomer since there are exceptions, including for couples in some areas whose first child is a daughter, there is no mistaking that China has had a stringent fertility policy.  With a three decade perspective, we can now see what has unfolded in people's lives as a result of the policy.  After it was announced in 1979, the policy was questioned for  a range of reasons.  In addition to the human rights issues inherent in the policy, demographers and sociologists also highlighted the potential social and gender implications of sharply constraining fertility. 

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/06/adding-forced-bachelors-to-mis.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/06/adding-forced-bachelors-to-mis.html Reproductive Health Supplies Shape of Things to Come China contraception family planning gender women Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:43:20 -0500 The new U.N. climate chief should have a strong understanding of women's issues Originally published on Grist

by Suzanne Ehlers , Negash Teklu, Rosemarie Muganda-Onyando,Wasim Zaman

We have a critical opportunity right now to make sure the next U.N. climate chief will serve the needs of the global community of women, and we need to seize it.

With Yvo de Boer stepping down as executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be appointing a replacement.  The role of the executive secretary is critical to achieving a fair, ambitious, and binding climate agreement, and a strong successor to de Boer is absolutely essential for Cancun and beyond.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/04/the-new-un-climate-chief-shoul.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/04/the-new-un-climate-chief-shoul.html International Advocacy Population and Climate Change climate change women Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:02:56 -0500 Whoa Canada Originally published on the Huffington Post.

Canada did its best this week to act like George W. Bush. The government excluded family planning from a new maternal health initiative for developing countries it planned to launch at the G8 meeting in June. Like a minority in our country, their Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon claimed that access to contraception is irrelevant to his goal of saving mothers and infants. After a quick public backlash, he edited his talking points, but still refused to acknowledge that family planning saves lives.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/03/whoa-canada.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/03/whoa-canada.html International Advocacy Reproductive Health Supplies family planning maternal health maternal mortality Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:49:19 -0500 The U.N. Men's Club By Suzanne Ehlers and Elizabeth Becker

Originally published on Grist.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced an important new climate change financing group last week, but out of the 19 people named, no women were included. This is unfortunate because women will bear the brunt of the effects of climate change and are key to any climate solutions. 

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/03/the-un-mens-club.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/03/the-un-mens-club.html International Advocacy International Women's Day Population and Climate Change climate change women Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:18:36 -0500 Motherhood, It's Complicated Originally posted on the Huffington Post

A colleague on maternity leave recently sent an e-mail saying what an incredible experience pregnancy is and how she can't help thinking of the millions of women who go through it without the support we take for granted in the U.S. "Here I am focusing on tummy time and music groups; talk about perspective when you consider that more than half a million women die every year during pregnancy and childbirth because they don't have access to the simplest of health services and supplies." ]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/02/motherhood-its-complicated.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2010/02/motherhood-its-complicated.html International Advocacy Measure of Survival Reproductive Health Supplies maternal health maternal mortality Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:59:33 -0500 Amid Blizzards, Protests, and Lock-downs, Population Gets Stunning Moments in the Sun in Copenhagen Originally published on the New Security Beat

The second week of negotiations here in Copenhagen has been marked by dramatic events, as the deadline for a new global agreement to address climate change approaches.

Blocs of negotiators from developing countries have walked out, and returned. Thousands of NGO representatives who have been denied access to the proceedings are shivering in the cold. Observers inside the Bella Center have staged sit-ins. And yet slivers of hope remain for some form of a global deal that is fair, ambitious, and binding as negotiators prepare for the arrival of more than 100 heads of state on Friday.
]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/12/amid-blizzards-protests-and-lo.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/12/amid-blizzards-protests-and-lo.html Population and Climate Change climate climate change population Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:19:49 -0500 Let the Human Face of Climate Change Emerge in Copenhagen As the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convenes in Copenhagen for its 15th  meeting, all eyes are  on targets to reduce carbon emissions.  At the same time, the irony of climate change is that people in countries that have had the least to do with growing emissions are likely to experience the greatest difficulties in adapting to the impacts of climate change.  Discussions and agreements in Copenhagen will include how best to plan for and fund long term adaptation strategies for countries affected by changes in climate.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/12/let-the-human-face-of-climate.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/12/let-the-human-face-of-climate.html International Advocacy Population and Climate Change climate population Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:48:38 -0500 Climate Change, Family Planning and Reproductive Health As countries negotiate climate change solutions in Copenhagen, family planning and reproductive health should be among the adaption strategies on the table. At the same time, the world should not shy away from addressing population as a factor related to carbon emissions. Over 200 million women around the world are having more children than they say they want to have, partly because they do not have access to contraception. Giving women the means to have the number of children they prefer will help them and their families prosper, which is good for women, for the environment and for climate change.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/12/climate-change-family-planning.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/12/climate-change-family-planning.html International Advocacy Population and Climate Change climate climate change population Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:40:01 -0500 The Human Faces of Climate Change in Ethiopia Originally published on RH Reality Check

The old adage, think globally and act locally, should be heeded in discussing solutions to climate change.  While changes in industrialized country consumption patterns and technological solutions are needed to help stop the flow of dangerous greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and rendering the planet hotter and hotter, they will be insufficient to address the other side of climate change - helping the most vulnerable people adapt to its effects.  Adaptation requires community-based and integrated approaches to help people cope.   Involving communities and devising solutions based on local environmental and social conditions is the only sustainable approach.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/12/climate-change-the-human-faces.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/12/climate-change-the-human-faces.html International Advocacy Population and Climate Change climate climate change Ethiopia family planning population Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:16:29 -0500 Pakistan's Demographic Challenge Is Not Just Economic Originally published in The New Security Beat

In a meeting with business leaders in Lahore in late October, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pointedly warned of the potential economic impacts of Pakistan's rapidly growing population: "There has to be...in any plan for your own economic future, a hard look at where you're going to get the resources to meet these needs. You do have somewhere between 170 and 180 million people. Your population is projected to be about 300 million as the current birth rates, which are among the highest in the world, continue," she said.

]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/11/pakistans-demographic-challeng.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/11/pakistans-demographic-challeng.html International Advocacy Shape of Things to Come U.S. Policies demographics Pakistan population U.S. Foreign Aid Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:11:38 -0500 Hope in Dialogue: Thoughts on the 5th Asia and Pacific Conference

by Suzanne Ehlers

The 5th Asia and Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (APCRSHR) is currently underway in Beijing, China. Today, I am moderating a session co-hosted by the Asia Pacific Alliance (APA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The session, titled Meet the Donors, explored resource mobilization and Millennium Development Goal 5 (improving maternal health) through the lens of a theme raised in the day's opening sessions: In a climate of continuing financial gloom, how is it that an intervention as cost effective as family planning and reproductive health is still having difficulty mobilizing adequate resources?


]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/10/hope-in-dialogue-thoughts-on-t.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/10/hope-in-dialogue-thoughts-on-t.html Condoms and Contraceptives Count International Advocacy PAI Travel Population and Climate Change Reproductive Health Supplies Viewpoints advocacy Asia China climate change family planning Japan reproductive health sexual and reproductive health Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:34:36 -0500 Adapting to Climate Change: The Role of Reproductive Health & Family Planning

by Clive Mutunga

In spite of all of the uncertainty leading up to the Copenhagen climate talks in December, one thing is clear: Adaptation needs are the most urgent in the least developed countries. These countries are expected to feel the brunt of climate change impacts: drought, floods, extreme weather, changing disease vectors, declining agricultural production - despite having contributed the least to it. For people in countries most affected by climate change, finding and supporting adaptation strategies that strengthen people's resilience and ability to cope with the effects of changes in climate is critical. My colleague Karen Hardee and I explored these issues and how population fits in our recent study, Population and Reproductive Health in National Adaptation Programs of Action for Climate Change.


]]> http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/10/adapting-to-climate-change-the.html http://www.populationaction.org/blog/2009/10/adapting-to-climate-change-the.html Population and Climate Change Reproductive Health Supplies Viewpoints adaptation climate climate change contraception population reproductive health women Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:19:13 -0500