Two years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the territory has seen a major decline in abortions—possibly a consequence of a family planning care system left in tatters long after the storm.
July 10, 2019
The charitable arm of pharma giant Merck is on a mission to empower infertile women in Africa through uplifting music that discourages blaming women for infertility. The “More Than A Mother” campaign features an all-female choir and Merck-branded clothing—it also touts…
June 28, 2019
The US aid ban on groups that offer abortion services overseas has led to 40% higher abortion rates in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the largest empirical study of the Mexico City policy, published in the Lancet.
June 21, 2019
Women comprise 80% of all US autoimmune disease cases but most theories about this point to “how” not “why.” Evolutionary biologist Melissa Wilson may have the “why.” “Pregnancy-compensation hypothesis” postulates that women evolved to be pregnant for most of their lives…
June 20, 2019
Africa’s first summit aimed at ending female genital mutilation and child marriage in Dakar, Senegal this week brought calls to step up law enforcement and gain support from religious leaders.
June 17, 2019
One of Malawi’s first female engineering graduates, Mercy Masoo, now WaterAid Malawi’s country director, chose an unusual career path for women in Malawi at the time. She entered the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) field at a time when few women in her country had…
June 5, 2019
VANCOUVER—“The first Women Deliver conference was about women delivering babies … now we deliver so much more,” Melinda Gates said yesterday at #WD2019, adding, “I think what we’re really delivering is change.” Signs of positive disruption are all around. Conference-goers…
May 20, 2019
Ellen Engle sees a pattern on the support group she runs on Facebook: Women “told they’re going through menopause or have irritable bowel syndrome”—when in fact they have ovarian cancer. Late diagnoses and lagging treatment advancements have meant high mortality rates for…
May 14, 2019
The Nepalese government updated its ban on menstrual huts last August, attaching new penalties to the practice. The custom of chaupadi is linked to Hindu beliefs that deem menstruation “spiritually polluting,” writes Danielle Preiss. Despite the ban, the custom persists in…
May 13, 2019
Scores of Indian families are imprisoned by medical debt after falling victim to hysterectomy scams, according to a Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation. Unscrupulous doctors prey on women seeking solutions to minor ailments like abnormal bleeding or painful periods. …