Summary: This article by Sunanda Ray originally appeared in Vol. XXIV, No. 2 of Conscience, the quarterly newsjournal of Catholic opinion published by Catholics for a Free Choice, 1436 U Street, NW, Suite 301, Washington, DC 20009, USA. Visit www.catholicsforchoice.org.

>>Available in PDF

Summary: By Rounaq Jahan (Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 11, No. 21, May 2003). Examines how advocates for gender equity succeeded in influencing health sector reform in Bangladesh in the mid-1990s, but failed to exert the same influence over the implementation of those reforms. The article discusses the major challenges advocates faced, the strategies they developed in response, and as a result, the gains they were able to achieve. These included ensuring that social and gender equity as well as reproductive health were central concerns of the health system, developing indicators to monitor program performance, improving community and stakeholder participation, and recognizing the importance of gender in all health interventions. Despite these successes, substantial ground was lost in the implementation process, indicating the need for civil society to play a more prominent role at each stage of the reform process (9 pages).

>>Available in PDF

Summary: By Rama Lakshminarayanan (Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 11, No. 21, May 2003). An analysis of the difficulties associated with health sector reform in the Philippines, in particular the negative consequences for reproductive health services. The decentralization process, initiated in 1991, was intended to improve the efficiency, equity, and effectiveness of the health sector. Given existing weaknesses and inequities in the system, however, the process created a number of unanticipated problems, with particular consequences for women. In order to avoid such problems in the future, it is necessary to consider a number of health and non-health factors before undertaking such reforms, and to be willing to make adjustments during implementation (12 pages).

To order the full issue of Reproductive Health Matters, click here.

The Miami Herald, March 31, 2003

By Adrienne Germain

President Bush's announcement of a $15 billion effort to fight HIV/AIDS in the worst affected countries may seem like a huge windfall, but when you witness the staggering impact of the disease on these countries, $15 billion starts to look more like a drop in the bucket. Unless Bush and Congress come up with a spending plan that reflects the depth and complexity of the crisis, that's exactly what it will continue to be.

The New York Times, March 1, 2003

By Kati Marton

This article appeared in the New York Times along with five othersin response to President Bush's announcement of a $15 billion"Emergency AIDS Initiative." It was reprinted in the InternationalHerald Tribune March 5, 2003.

By Cynthia Rothschild
American Sexuality Magazine, Volume 1, No. 6

Women's eNews, December 11, 2002

By Françoise Girard

Editor's Note: The following is a commentary. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the views of Women's eNews.

Many concerned citizens saw President Bush's move blocking the United States' $34 million contribution to the United Nations Population Fund last July as yet another attack on abortion. But his actions then and since have revealed a much broader anti-woman agenda, one that is threatening women's health, human rights and equality in the United States and worldwide.

December 1, 2002

By Adrienne Germain

On a recent trip to India and Bangladesh, I looked into the face of AIDS in Asia, which is increasingly adolescent and female.

New York Newsday, December 1, 2002

By Mabel Bianco

A United Nations report released last week announced that women have caught up with men as far as AIDS is concerned. Half the adults affected with HIV worldwide are now women. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It was just a matter of time before the disease shifted from one originally affecting gay white men to one transmitted heterosexually all over the world.

>>Available in PDF

Summary: By Françoise Girard and Wanda Nowicka (Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 10, No. 19, May 2002). Describes the findings of the July 2001 Tribunal on Abortion Rights in Warsaw, which was organized by the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning in response to the Polish Anti-Abortion Act of 1993. A panel of Polish and foreign experts heard testimonies from seven women and, based on their stories, concluded that restrictive abortion laws do not decrease the incidence of abortion but rather push it underground, endanger women's health, create a climate where even those services that are allowed by law become unavailable, and contravene standards set by international human rights law. The Tribunal brought the issue of abortion into the media and galvanized Polish and other Eastern European women's groups to become more active in defense of abortion rights (9 pages). 

Click here to order the full issue of Reproductive Health Matters.