Access to contraception must be lowered to allow teenage girls to make informed decisions about their bodies, relationships, and futures, say key African health stakeholders – including sexual and reproductive health workers and advocates. But are policymakers ready to adopt this change – particularly as the debate over sexual and reproductive health rights becomes ever […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – A coalition of South African civil society groups have urged South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa to “step up” and lead a coordinated national and regional response to prevent “mass healthcare disruptions, preventable deaths, and surges in new HIV infections and drug resistance,” in the wake of the US President Donald Trump’s cut off […] Continue reading ->
In 2024, the world reached an alarming milestone: the hottest global temperatures ever recorded. Floods, heat waves, tropical storms, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires are affecting everyone, everywhere, with devastating consequences.  But behind the headlines of environmental catastrophe lies a quieter crisis: the health impacts of climate change on women, families and newborns, and the health […] Continue reading ->
Rape is common across Africa yet inadequate laws, weak implementation and cultural barriers mean that many perpetrators go unpunished, according to new research by Equality Now. “After examining rape laws across Africa, it is clear that to end impunity for perpetrators, governments urgently need to carry out comprehensive legal reform of rape laws, strengthen enforcement […] Continue reading ->
Dr Anu Kumar, CEO of the global reproductive justice organisation Ipas, outlines the impact of a global clampdown on abortion “Unsafe abortion remains a leading cause of maternal mortality, and it is entirely preventable,” says Dr Anu Kumar, CEO of Ipas, an international reproductive justice organisation. “So there is something we can do about it. […] Continue reading ->
Post 2020, ex-Trump officials have worked through NGOs to undermine abortion and LGBTQ rights in Africa, preparing the ground for his re-election Despite Donald Trump’s electoral defeat as US president in 2020, his ex-officials and allies have never stopped campaigning for African countries to prevent abortion and LGBTQ rights  – in league with some of […] Continue reading ->
Pregnant women with disabilities in Malawi face a myriad of challenges, despite several policies and an Act stipulating the need to respect disability rights, including in health service provision. BLANTYRE, Malawi – When Lynes Manduwa miscarried, nurses in the gynaecology ward at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) ganged up and confronted her husband. “They confronted […] Continue reading ->
UNAIDS has welcomed the recent ruling by Namibia’s High Court that its laws prohibiting same-sex acts between men are unconstitutional as they unfairly discriminate against gay men. Namibian citizen Friedel Dausab, supported by the Human Dignity Trust, sought to have laws prohibiting sodomy and “unnatural sex acts” and sections of the Immigration Control Act and […] Continue reading ->