tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89147076708377711492024-02-07T10:50:11.339-08:00Girl Power!Empowerment through InformationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-17279215516076808122012-03-04T20:39:00.000-08:002012-03-04T20:39:18.182-08:00We've Moved!Visit our new blog <a href="http://gpibenin.wordpress.com/"><i>gpibenin</i></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-66312575656751525052011-07-05T16:22:00.000-07:002011-07-05T16:22:12.310-07:00Effects of sexual abuse last for decades, study finds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVp0c8lMFO1I2v4KyaQO07w4JIEwt6LyAgv07aG1NdCtoWEJw6zspws3yX0oeBwhpys153vs2RDnHJyCWoNKcF5i4ybmHK389nMiVRWav7Pscq0yM6ROolpPfvWhAakIDJLvbjJTXnlLjK/s1600/Domestic_violence+Children.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVp0c8lMFO1I2v4KyaQO07w4JIEwt6LyAgv07aG1NdCtoWEJw6zspws3yX0oeBwhpys153vs2RDnHJyCWoNKcF5i4ybmHK389nMiVRWav7Pscq0yM6ROolpPfvWhAakIDJLvbjJTXnlLjK/s200/Domestic_violence+Children.gif" width="200" /></a></div>(<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43594639/ns/health-health_care/#">Joan Raymond, msnbc.com</a>) Young girls who are the victims of sexual abuse experience physical, biological and behavioral problems that can persist for decades after, a new study shows. <br />
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Researchers, who tracked a group of girls ranging in age from 6 to 16 at the start of the study in 1987 for the next 23 years, found that they had higher rates of depression and obesity, as well as problems with regulation of brain chemicals, among other issues, compared to a control group of girls who were not abused.<br />
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<span class="goog_qs-tidbit goog_qs-tidbit-0">The study, published in the Cambridge University Press journal </span><em><span class="goog_qs-tidbit goog_qs-tidbit-0">Development and</span> Psychopathology</em>, was conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Those in the study were assessed by researchers six times at varying ages and developmental stages. Researchers hope to continue the study looking at the women, who are now in their 30s, as well as their children.<br />
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The racially-diverse group of 80 girls, who lived in the Washington, D.C., area, were victims of incest, broadly defined as suffering sexual abuse by a male living within the home. On average, the girls were abused for about two years prior to the abuse coming to the attention of child protective services. Some girls were abused when they were as young as age 2.<br />
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Compared to a non-abused control group, the researchers found the study participants, all of whom were provided three therapy sessions on average in group and individual settings, suffered severe effects during different stages of their lives, which affected their sexual and cognitive development, mental and physical health, as well as their brain chemical profile. Study participants were more likely to be sexually active at younger ages, have lower educational status, and have more mental health problems. <br />
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As children, they had higher levels of cortisol, the so-called "stress hormone," which is released in high levels during the body's "fight or flight" response. But by about age 15, testing showed that cortisol levels were below normal, compared to the control group. Lower levels of cortisol have been linked to a decrease in the body's ability to deal with stress, as well as problems with depression and obesity. Lower levels of the hormone have also been linked to post-traumatic stress disorder.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.childguidancecenter.org/images/bd06388_.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.childguidancecenter.org/images/bd06388_.gif" width="148" /></a></div>"The cortisol levels (of some study participants) wound up looking like Vietnam vets," says study co-author Dr. Frank Putnam, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "That tells us they are in a chronic state of stress, and never feel safe." <br />
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During the last assessment, when study participants were in their 20s, their cortisol levels remained lower than the control group, on average. "That tells us their stress response system is burned out," says Putman, which could explain why some are doing so poorly in life."<br />
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The long-term effects of the abuse "were absolutely profound," says lead author and child psychologist Penelope Trickett, USC professor of Social Work. "It's just not mental health issues. Some of these women are suffering from a lot of problems today like sleep issues, poor health utilization, and have a lot of risky behaviors. It's very disturbing."<br />
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Trickett says some women who have been sexually abused themselves have told her the findings validated their realities. "A woman came up to me once at a talk and identified herself as a childhood victim of sexual abuse and thanked me for these findings and for trying to shed light on this issue."<br />
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She also noted that not all of the 80 women in the study are extremely disabled from their experience. In the abused group, some 40 percent are obese as adults, compared to 20 percent in the control group. "But that still means that almost 60 percent of the abused group are not obese," says Trickett. "The groups are statistically different, and that's important. But both groups have variability. The abused group just has more variability within the group."<br />
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Trickett also says the findings don't mean that once someone is abused they are destined to a lifetime of struggle.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.eurochild.org/uploads/pics/sexualAbuse_en-lottesxl_abuse-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://www.eurochild.org/uploads/pics/sexualAbuse_en-lottesxl_abuse-1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>"These women are more likely to have problems in mental health and physical health than those who haven't been abused," she said. "But it really varies to what degree they are disabled by these challenges. Some are managing their lives pretty well, considering what they went through."<br />
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Though the study participants received some psychological counseling there was no specific treatment for childhood trauma and sexual abuse in the late 1980s. "Three or four sessions isn't a lot of treatment; it's some, but it's little compared to today," says Trickett. According to Putnam, evidence-based treatments, such as trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, came about in the 1990s.<br />
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"But the big question is does treatment prevent these things from happening or reverse what has happened," says Putnam. "And the answer is we don't know."<br />
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The researchers hope that study data are used to develop more comprehensive treatment programs. "What is clear here is that abuse is not something that's a one-time fix," says Trickett.<br />
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Prevention and getting kids into treatment early is "the first step," says Carolyn Landis, a clinical psychologist with Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. "To see how these girls suffer into adulthood is extremely troubling," she says.<br />
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"From my perspective, this data, especially regarding cortisol levels, can help professionals identify kids who may be at risk much earlier. We need to sensitize people and then find ways to help kids be safe."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://adventist.org.au/__data/assets/image/973/Sexual-Abuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="http://adventist.org.au/__data/assets/image/973/Sexual-Abuse.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Find the full article:<br />
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<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8255621&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954579411000174"><strong>The impact of sexual abuse on female development: Lessons from a multigenerational, longitudinal research study</strong>.</a><br />
<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8255621&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954579411000174">Penelope K. Trickett,Jennie G. Noll and Frank W. Putnam (2011).</a><br />
<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8255621&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954579411000174"><em>Development and Psychopathology</em>, </a><br />
<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8255621&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954579411000174">Volume 23, Issue 02, May 2011 pp 453-476</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-47040337567322575692011-06-29T15:41:00.000-07:002011-06-29T15:50:53.178-07:00PROTEST AGAINST BILL H22 OUTLAWING "FGM" IN NIGERIADisclaimer: GirlPower! does NOT in any way support the views of this article. GPI Nigeria counts as a major success the passing of the anti-FGM bill, and was one of the NGO's involved in lobbying for it. Comments are very welcome below.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times;"><b>by Nowa Omoigui, MD, MPH, FACC, Columbia, SC, USA. (<a href="http://www.edo-nation.net/billh22.htm">Edo Nation Online</a>)</b></span><br />
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I want to state unequivocally that I do not support the proposed HB22 Bill sponsored by Janet Adeyemi and aimed at outlawing "FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION PRACTICE IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA."<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a huge difference between Circumcision and Mutilation. To group all forms of age old religious circumcision into one large category under the guise of medical enlightenment and "civilization" is very unfortunate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The term "female genital mutilation" is mischievous and hypocritical. Why are we not campaigning to ban "Male Genital Mutilation"? After all, there is a movement of sophisticated gentile physicians led by Dr. George C. Denniston in the US who want male circumcision banned too [Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]. Let us see who will sponsor that bill in Nigeria-to ban male circumcision-the main indication for which is cultural preference.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The classification system of Types I, II, III, and IV being used for "female genital mutilation" is the same as was used in the US congress when Pat Schroeder was sponsoring that country's bill. It is not true that every type of genital ritual has the same implication or is practiced consistently across Nigeria or Africa. I am not aware of any Edo woman-for example-who has been properly circumcised whose clitoris or labia was amputated. What is removed is the prepuce - a small piece of the sheath that extends from the clitoris. That sheath has no sexual function and certainly no reproductive significance. It is the same sheath that is removed in males. In fact in many cases the "removal" is symbolic - and is part of a traditional marriage ceremony.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our constitution recognizes religious secularity as a principle of state policy-but accepts common law, Islamic law and customary law as a reality. It must be tolerant and also respect cultural secularity in a multicultural</div><div style="text-align: justify;">nation. Sections 10 and 38 give us the right to freedom of belief and worship.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are ethnic clans in Nigeria-Hausas, Ijebus and Itsekiris-that do not routinely circumcise their women. I respect their right to exercise that prerogative and expect them to respect my customs too. Female circumcision among those who practice it did not arise from hatred of womenfolk. In many clans it is linked to other prestigious ceremonies - all of which will presumably no longer take place as a consequence of this proposed legislation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It occurred to me that in all the years of British rule in Nigeria no colonial official tried to ban female circumcision - including those who banned twin killing. So why the sudden discovery of female 'mutilation'? Why now? What is all this western preoccupation with the genitals of African women?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, there is absolutely no evidence that maternal and child mortality in Nigeria is independently increased because of properly performed circumcision. I challenge anyone to come out with prospective</div><div style="text-align: justify;">RANDOMIZED data coupled to a logistic regression analysis of multiple potential factors that proves such a cause and effect relationship. This is only the latest of a series of frivolous rationalizations that have been</div><div style="text-align: justify;">offered.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First the Women's liberation movement in the West said it was a male custom done to "control" women. Then they discovered that female circumcision was done for women by women to women. Next they said it limited sexual enjoyment-a fundamental right. But it is evident that many women who do not enjoy sex are not even circumcised. There are numerous reasons why a woman may not enjoy sex-including the competence of her male partner. Many postmenopausal women suffer such problems. Pessaries widely used for reasons other than circumcision cause plenty of genital damage to women in Nigeria and Africa (including gynaetresia) - but I haven't seen any legislation to ban use of pessaries. Now maternal and child mortality is being blamed on</div><div style="text-align: justify;">circumcision. It is just another case of intellectual fraud.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is this not the same Nigeria where the government sanctions cutting of hands (that is, mutilation of the limbs) based on religious codes of law in certain states? As "civilized" as the US is, one of their closest foreign allies is Saudi Arabia - a country where cutting of limbs and heads is standard operating procedure. Why are US organizations not leading the charge against the inimical health effects of amputation? Is oil is greater than human rights?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What about the 'custom' of killing female children in China - which still goes on today? What does the WHO or EU or the US have to say about that?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Who advised the World Health Organization to coin the phrase "mutilation"? Whoever did was cynically manipulating language. We "mutilate" the umbilical cord by cutting it off at birth and arbitrarily deciding how long the navel should be. We "mutilate" our bodies with ear rings, tongue rings, tattoos, nose jobs etc... We "keep" biologically excretory products like nails and hair-and use them for beautification-and do so differently, I might add, depending on the cultural environment. Some western women (in the US) begin to shave their leg hair at age 10. They also shave their armpits. Has anyone else in the world attacked them for mutilating what God put there for a reason? We use traditional scarification marks for medicinal and symbolic purposes... some of which result in disfiguring keloids. Why is that not ' mutilation' of the skin? Why not ban it?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A good example of the tension between conventional medical wisdom and religion can be illustrated with the Jehovah dilemma. Jehovah's witnesses all over the world do not accept blood transfusions and organ transplants in spite of "health data" which suggest that those medical interventions could be life saving. Should we ban Jehovah's witnesses in Nigeria?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In response to malnutrition in India is the World Health Organization going to propose that Hinduism - observed by almost a quarter of the worlds population-be banned since its adherents do not eat cow meat which they consider sacred? Try getting that bill passed in the Indian parliament-and give me a call if you succeed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In India, drinking urine is a custom too. Even Mahatma Ghandi-the great Indian leader after whom Martin Luther King patterned his protesting style - used to drink his own urine in the mornings, as did Moraji Desai, a former Indian Prime Minister. Most Nigerians-brought up with a different mindset-would consider such a cultural practice unimaginable. Does that elevate it to a crime?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Acupuncture was once derided in the West-because the "biologic basis" was not explainable using western models of physiology. But once they realized that China was not going to change its ways anytime soon-and a few westerners actually went there and came to appreciate its efficacy, acupuncture centers began springing up in every corner of the West.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Talking more about the politics of nomenclature, I want us to imagine for one second what it would be like to change the way we describe and use the phrase "abortion"-which is performed left, right and center in Nigeria [in spite of laws against it]. Rather than "abortion" or "termination of pregnancy"-as my colleagues like to say - let us call it "fetal mutilation" (FM). Many of the so called advocates against circumcision who cry out against the loss of a small piece of tissue-and call it mutilation-have no qualms with the "right" to have abortions involving the barbaric crushing and scooping of body parts of an unborn fetus. Neither do I hear a worldwide campaign against episiotomy-the slashing (or shall I say mutilation) of a woman's perineum to widen the passage for childbirth-sometimes necessary, but more often not. The scar is permanent and the functional characteristics of the vault as a sexual organ may be altered forever.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since we were children how many doctors and women have we seen (or heard) charged to court for abortion in Nigeria - as unhealthy as it can turn out to be and as dangerous as it could be whether in the hands of quacks or specialists? And many women have become infertile or even died from sepsis. But it rides on in broad daylight while we are worrying about circumcision. How many Nigerian Gynecologists - including those who propound safe motherhood in public - can look you straight in the eye and say they have not been making money from D & Cs including partial birth abortions (i.e fetal mutilation)?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A common argument among proponents of HB22 and similar legislation is that children (rather than their parents) be allowed to make the decision whether to get circumcised when they get to age 18. In my view, this suggestion amounts to a pervasive interference in the right of families to rear their children in their own cultural and religious likeness. The "let children grow up and decide" argument can equally apply to all other aspects of life. Let them grow up and decide whether and what schools to attend; what religion to practice; whether to cut their hair, pierce their ears, shave their armpits, shave their legs; what foods to eat; what language to speak, etc... They might even have the right to divorce their parents - as occurred in Florida recently! But the more one travels along this curious line of reasoning the farther away from our essence as Africans one gets.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another common rationalization is that modern African women want to "control their bodies." But those who claim such motivations show no interest in getting male circumcision banned the world over. Are males exempt from the requirement to be "in charge of their own bodies"-if that is what is denied by circumcision? What gives a little girl more right to 'control her body' than a little boy? What 'control' does a little girl have over her body when her bath water, soap, lotion, clothes, shoes, perfume (if relevant), skin marks, length of her navel, ear (or nasal) holes, armpit hair length, leg hair length, pubic hair length, head hair design, eye lash length, body odor, sex education, menstrual sanitation practice, tooth care, nail length and colour, jewelry (if relevant) and other paraphernalia are predominantly determined by her parental and family upbringing?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When an American child is told by her mother to shave the hair on her legs or armpit "because that is the decent thing to do in our custom" what control is she exercising over her body? The excuse, therefore, that African women now want to 'control their bodies' by rejecting their own customs is tenuous. What we all do with our bodies is a function of culture and environment. What is really happening is that one culture-which has captured the minds of some of our people-is trying to force its way down the throats of others using health and safety as a Trojan horse.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cultural war against female circumcision is led by the same western human rights crowd that classifies same-sex marriages as okay (in some parts of the US) and puts pictures (of same sex couples) in books for little children to read and learn from. I have the right to invoke my ancient customs and look askance at such a policy-and protect my kids from it-at the risk of being called conservative. Even the Pope in his wisdom, saw fit to apologize to traditional African religions recently for the value judgements that led to the destruction of their systems.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">If inimical health outcomes of female circumcision are the concern of those who oppose it, let them tell us how to make it safer-just as male circumcision these days is often accomplished using a special device. The number of neonates with neonatal tetanus from unhygienic cutting of cords in Nigeria has generally been addressed by measures to prevent tetanus-not to ban cord cutting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The latter point highlights one of the biases in female circumcision discussions-the fact that female circumcision was never taught to 'modern' Nigerian doctors and not offered in hospital when a child is born. Therefore, the alleged relative safety and low risk of complications that attends male circumcision performed by trained physicians (not to mention the new plastic bell technology for doing it) creates an unfair yardstick for comparison. And many of the best original experts in the villages are dying. Only recently I accidentally discovered the analgesic effects of snail juice-used during circumcisions-from an old villager.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What the Health ministries in Nigeria should be doing in respectful consultation with traditional leaders-is restricting themselves to improving the safe performance of circumcision, or conducting randomized controlled</div><div style="text-align: justify;">studies to evaluate various traditional approaches to the matter, not dabbling into making jaundiced value judgements (through an arbitrary western prism) about an ancient blood ritual. That decision is for villages</div><div style="text-align: justify;">and clans to make, not the country as a whole.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our children do not speak our language, do not wear our clothes, do not practice our religion, and our ancient customs are under assault. In 50 - 100 years we will be unrecognizable as a distinct cultural entity - all under the guise of globalization. Is this beneficial? To who? This rush to western judgement will have to be slowed down at some point.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In conclusion, criminalizing our customs is a dangerous and unwise undertaking. The National and State Assemblies should stay out of legislating African traditional religion. I do not support HB22.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To contact Dr Omoigui, email <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #663300; font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 13px;"><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><a href="mailto:webmaster@edo-nation.net" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_self"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">webmaster@edo-nation.net</span></a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-39753689693203790152011-05-12T03:08:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:39:49.843-07:00The Social Life of Health: A Pew research<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kaleazy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/i-dont-know-300x150.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://kaleazy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/i-dont-know-300x150.png" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(<a href="http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Life-of-Health-Info.aspx">Pew Internet</a>) "I don’t know, but I can try to find out" is the default setting for people with health questions.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The internet has changed people’s relationships with information. Our data consistently show that doctors, nurses, and other health professionals continue to be the first choice for most people with health concerns, but online resources, including advice from peers, are a significant source of health information in the U.S.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These findings are based on a national telephone survey conducted by Pew Research Center in August and September 2010 among 3,001 adults in the U.S. The complete methodology and results can be found at <a href="http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Life-of-Health-Info.aspx">Pew Internet</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The survey finds that, of the 74% of adults who use the internet:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">80% of internet users have looked online for information about any of 15 health topics such as a specific disease or treatment. This translates to 59% of all adults.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">34% of internet users, or 25% of adults, have read someone else’s commentary or experience about health or medical issues on an online news group, website, or blog.</span></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">25% of internet users, or 19% of adults, have watched an online video about health or medical issues.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">24% of internet users, or 18% of adults, have consulted online reviews of particular drugs or medical treatments.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">18% of internet users, or 13% of adults, have gone online to find others who might have health concerns similar to theirs.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">16% of internet users, or 12% of adults, have consulted online rankings or reviews of doctors or other providers.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15% of internet users, or 11% of adults, have consulted online rankings or reviews of hospitals or other medical facilities.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of those who use social network sites (62% of adult internet users, or 46% of all adults):</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">23% of social network site users, or 11% of adults, have followed their friends’ personal health experiences or updates on the site.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">17% of social network site users, or 8% of adults, have used social networking sites to remember or memorialize other people who suffered from a certain health condition.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15% of social network site users, or 7% of adults, have gotten any health information on the sites.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/images/i-know.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/images/i-know.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I know, and I want to share my knowledge" is the leading edge of health care.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As broadband and mobile access spreads, more people have the ability – and increasingly, the habit – of sharing what they are doing or thinking. In health care this translates to people tracking their workout routines, posting reviews of their medical treatments, and raising awareness about certain health conditions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are not yet mainstream activities, but there are pockets of highly-engaged patients and caregivers who are taking an active role in tracking and sharing what they have learned.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of adults who use the internet:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">27% of internet users, or 20% of adults, have tracked their weight, diet, exercise routine or some other health indicators or symptoms online.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6% of internet users, or 4% of adults, have posted comments, questions or information about health or medical issues on a website of any kind, such as a health site or news site that allows comments and discussion.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4% of internet users, or 3% of adults, have posted their experiences with a particular drug or medical treatment.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4% of internet users, or 3% of adults, have posted a review online of a doctor.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3% of internet users, or 2% of adults, have posted a review online of a hospital.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of adults who use social network sites:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">14% of social network site users, or 6% of adults, have raised money for or drawn attention to a health-related issue or cause.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11% of social network site users, or 5% of adults, have posted comments, queries, or information about health or medical matters.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9% of social network site users, or 4% of adults, have started or joined a health-related group on a social networking site.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The social life of health information is robust. The online conversation about health is being driven forward by two forces: 1) the availability of social tools and 2) the motivation, especially among people living with chronic conditions, to connect with each other.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media02.linkedin.com/media/p/2/000/06c/3e0/1ee87a0.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://media02.linkedin.com/media/p/2/000/06c/3e0/1ee87a0.png" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This report is the result of collaboration between the Pew Internet Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Pew Internet & American Life Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project is nonpartisan and takes no position on policy issues. Support is provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The California HealthCare Foundation is an independent philanthropy committed to improving the way health care is delivered and financed in California.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All quantitative, numerical data is based on a September 2010 national telephone survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PSRAI is an independent firm dedicated to high-quality research providing reliable, valid results for clients in the United States and around the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.imediapress.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/social-networks1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="http://www.imediapress.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/social-networks1.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Social network sites are popular, but used only sparingly for health updates and queries.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As of September 2010, 62% of adult internet users report using a social network site like MySpace or Facebook. Of that group:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">23% of social networking site users have followed their friends’ personal health experiences or updates on the site. This translates to 11% of all adults.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">17% have used social network sites to remember or memorialize other people who suffered from a certain health condition.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15% have gotten any health information on the sites.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">14% have raised money for or drawn attention to a health-related issue or cause.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11% have posted comments, queries, or information about health or medical matters.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9% have started or joined a health-related group on a social networking site.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">People caring for loved ones are more likely than other adults to use social network sites to gather and share health information and support.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">More than a quarter of adults in the U.S. provide unpaid care to a loved one. Twenty-seven percent of adults care for an adult relative or friend; 5% of adults care for a child with a health condition or disability.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Caregivers are one group that is significantly more likely than others to use social network sites for health-related pursuits: 28% of caregivers who use social networks sites say they follow friends’ health updates, compared with 21% of other social network site users. Twenty percent of caregivers who use social network sites say they have gathered health information on such a site, compared with 12% of other users.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Social network sites are not a significant source of health information for most people, but they can be a source of encouragement and care. In a book about social support, Consequential Strangers, authors Melinda Blau and Karen Fingerman write about how people in our wide circles of acquaintance “offer practical assistance, firsthand information, and a special brand of no-strings emotional comfort.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On a practical level, the vast majority of people living with chronic conditions never attend traditional, in-person support group meetings, although studies show they could benefit from such groups. Instead, people often mobilize their “social convoy” of family members, friends, colleagues, fellow patients, and fellow caregivers – many of whom are now connected online via email, social network sites, or by other means. As Blau and Fingerman describe it:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A natural network provides a safety net and puts the patient in charge—a good balance in any situation. Think of it as customizing your convoy. If people who are already on board don’t have the information, experience, or empathy you need, you enlist others who do.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a pattern that matches this observation, people living with one or more chronic conditions and those living with disability are significantly more likely than other social network site users to gather health information on these sites. Twenty percent of social network site users living with chronic conditions do so, compared with 12% of social network site users who report no chronic conditions. Twenty-three percent of social network site users living with disability get health information on these sites, compared with 13% of those who report no disability.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/uploadedimages/NumberOne1_3158_175x175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/uploadedimages/NumberOne1_3158_175x175.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Relatively few use hospital ranking and doctor review sites.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hospital and doctor review sites have not yet become health care decision-making tools for most consumers. One national survey found that only 6% of American adults are aware of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s Hospital Compare tool. Our current survey finds a similarly low usage of such sites among adult internet users, matching trends we first reported in 2009.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">16% of internet users have consulted online rankings or reviews of doctors or other providers.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15% of internet users have consulted online rankings or reviews of hospitals or other medical facilities.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4% of internet users have posted a review online of a doctor.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3% of internet users have posted a review online of a hospital.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Again, caregivers are more likely than other groups to engage in these activities. For example, 21% of online caregivers consult online doctor reviews, compared with 13% of internet users not currently caring for a loved one. Twenty percent of online caregivers consult online hospital reviews, compared with 12% of other internet users.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eighteen percent of internet users living with one or more chronic conditions have looked online for doctor rankings or reviews, compared with 14% of internet users who report no conditions. Six percent of internet users living with chronic disease have posted such a review, compared with 3% of those who report no conditions. Both of those differences are statistically significant, but more importantly, they are significant because of the context of who is most likely to be a frequent health care consumer: someone living with a chronic condition.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Internet users living with disability do not report a higher or lower likelihood to consult hospital rankings and doctor reviews. However, they are more likely than other internet users to post reviews of doctors and other health professionals online: 8% do so, compared with 4% of those who report no disability.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.rxlist.com/images/rxlist/rivastig9.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="http://images.rxlist.com/images/rxlist/rivastig9.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>One in four adult internet users have consulted online reviews of drugs or treatments.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In November 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration held a public hearing on how companies use the internet, particularly social media, to promote prescription drugs, medical devices, and other regulated products. No regulations have been issued to date. But because of this heightened interest in how consumers gather and share information about drugs, we added a new category of online reviews to the current survey and find:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">24% of internet users have consulted online reviews of particular drugs or medical treatments.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4% of internet users have posted their experiences with a particular drug or medical treatment.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fully 38% of online caregivers have consulted online drug reviews, compared with 18% of internet users who do not take care of a loved one. Seven percent of online caregivers have posted such a review, compared with just 2% of other internet users.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thirty-one percent of internet users living with one or more chronic conditions have looked at online drug reviews, compared with 20% of internet users reporting no conditions. Six percent of internet users living with chronic disease have posted an online review of a drug or treatment, compared with 2% of those with no conditions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Internet users living with disability are just as likely as other people to look up drug reviews, but they are more likely than other people to say they have posted their own treatment experiences online. Nine percent of internet users living with disability say they have posted a review of a drug or treatment, compared with 2% of those who report no disability.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a separate question we find that 24% of internet users say they go online to look for information about drug safety or recalls.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/10180991/1/10180991-percentage-sign-on-health-track-concept.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/10180991/1/10180991-percentage-sign-on-health-track-concept.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>One in four adult internet users track their own health data online.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carol Torgan, a health science strategist, points out that anyone who makes note of their blood pressure, weight, or menstrual cycle could be categorized as a “self-tracker.” Add an online component, and you have the ingredients for a social health application or an electronic health record. Our survey finds that 15% of internet users have tracked their weight, diet, or exercise routine online. In addition, 17% of internet users have tracked any other health indicators or symptoms online. Fully 27% of adult internet users say yes to either question.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wireless users are more likely than other internet users to track health data online. Eighteen percent of wireless users have tracked their weight, diet, or exercise routine online, compared with 9% of internet users who do not have a wireless-enabled laptop or other device. Nineteen percent of wireless users have tracked any other health indicators or symptoms online, compared with 11% of non-wireless internet users.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Separately, looking just at the 85% of adults who own a cell phone, 9% say they have software applications or "apps" on their phones that help them track or manage their health.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.all-free-download.com/images/graphiclarge/help_save_life_float_clip_art_7657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://images.all-free-download.com/images/graphiclarge/help_save_life_float_clip_art_7657.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>More people report being helped, rather than harmed, by online health information.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One in three adults in the U.S. (30%) say they or someone they know has been helped by following medical advice or health information found online.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fully 44% of caregivers report that online health resources have been helpful. Adults who went through a recent personal health change – gaining or losing a lot of weight, becoming pregnant, or quitting smoking – are also especially likely to report being helped by online resources: 40% do so, compared with 28% of other adults.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ten percent of adults living with two or more chronic conditions – unfortunately a large and growing slice of the population in the U.S. – say they or someone they know has received major help from online health information, compared with 5% of adults who report no conditions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just 3% of adults say they or someone they know has been harmed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.duarte.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/thumbnail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://blog.duarte.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/thumbnail.jpg" width="167" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>One in five adult internet users have gone online to find others with health concerns similar to their own</b>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The internet connects people who share interests of all kinds and health is no exception. Eighteen percent of internet users have gone online to find others who might have health concerns similar to theirs. Twenty-three percent of internet users living with at least one of five chronic conditions named in the survey have looked online for someone with similar health concerns, compared with 15% of those who report no conditions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Internet users who have experienced a recent medical emergency, their own or someone else’s, are also more likely than other internet users to go online to try to find someone who shares their situation: 23%, compared with 16%. This fits the pattern observed in Pew Internet’s other research that people going through a medical crisis are voracious information consumers: 85% say they look online for health information, compared with 77% of internet users who have not had that experience in the past year.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Internet users who have experienced a significant change in their physical health, such as weight loss or gain, pregnancy, or quitting smoking are also more likely than other internet users to have looked online for someone like them.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/learningdisabilities/images/hprofessionals.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/learningdisabilities/images/hprofessionals.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Health professionals, friends, family members, and fellow patients are all part of the mix.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even with the proliferation of mobile and online opportunities, however, most adults’ search for health information remains anchored in the offline world. Most people turn to a health professional, friend, or family member when they have a health question; the internet plays a growing but still supplemental role – and mobile connectivity has not changed that. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Again, when asked about the last time they had a health issue, 70% of adults in the U.S. say they received information, care, or support from a health professional. Fifty-four percent of adults say they turned to friends and family. Twenty percent of adults say they turned to others who have the same health condition.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The majority of these interactions happen offline: just 5% of adults say they received online information, care, or support from a health professional, 13% say they had online contact with friends and family, and 5% say they interacted online with fellow patients.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/education/look_it_up.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/education/look_it_up.png" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>People turn to different sources for different kinds of information.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All adults were asked which group is more helpful when they need certain types of information or support: health professionals like doctors and nurses or peers like fellow patients, friends, and family.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The pattern of responses was pretty clear: When the item involved technical issues related to a health issue, professionals held sway. When the item involved more personal issues of how to cope with a health issue or get quick relief, then non-professionals were preferred by most patients.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many people find the internet to be a valuable tool, whether they are using it to search for a quick answer or gain a deeper understanding of a new treatment option or prescription. The internet is also, as this study shows, a way to tap into our instincts to gather together, help other people, and be helped ourselves.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-59253111861657106152011-04-19T02:48:00.000-07:002011-04-19T02:49:25.765-07:00If Paid Equally, American Women Could Afford 1.7 Years of Food, Rent for 13 Months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTK96PAnqE1Mkg8QLML1jsBsMSVjkPiqADRXOnjHnllpF3fAWam1A" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTK96PAnqE1Mkg8QLML1jsBsMSVjkPiqADRXOnjHnllpF3fAWam1A" width="180" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=28306&security=2141&news_iv_ctrl=1741">National Partnership</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">) New research shows that the nation’s gender-based wage gap is punishing American families. On average, full-time working women in the United States are paid $10,622 less than their male counterparts, and the gap costs families billions of dollars annually. If the gap were eliminated, Alaskan women could buy 1.7 years’ worth of food. Connecticut’s working women could afford 15 more months of rent. Women in Michigan could make 10 more months of mortgage and utility payments. Californian women could buy 2,100 more gallons of gas.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The research was conducted by the National Partnership for Women & Families, in conjunction with the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The reports span all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The full set is available at <a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/epd">www.nationalpartnership.org/epd</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"This new data illustrate the very real harm unequal wages are doing to America’s working families,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. “It is long past time to close the gender-based wage gap. With women playing an increasingly important role as family breadwinners, there is no time to waste."</span></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The majority of working mothers in the U.S. now bring in at least a quarter of their families’ earnings, and nearly 14.5 million households nationwide are headed by women. Yet nationally, women working full-time are still paid an average of only 77 cents for every dollar paid to full-time working men. The gap has been closing at a rate of less than half a cent per year since the passage of the 1963 Equal Pay Act. At that pace, working women won’t come close to being paid the same amount as men until 2058 — when the high school students of today will be preparing for retirement.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"This research proves that the gender pay gap is not simply a numbers issue or a women’s issue," said AAUW Executive Director Linda Hallman, CAE. "It’s a bread and butter issue. It’s an everyday issue for people who are trying to support their families and provide for their futures. No more lip service, it's time to act."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Unless lawmakers and employers make eliminating the wage gap a priority once and for all, generations of women and their families are going to continue to suffer due to unfair pay and discrimination," Ness explained. "That’s why the re-introduction of the Paycheck Fairness Act in Congress today is so important. This legislation is critically important to efforts to end wage discrimination and ensuring that working women are paid fairly."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Paycheck Fairness Act, which would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and establish stronger workplace protections for women, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in the last Congress but fell two votes short of moving forward in the Senate last year. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will re-introduce it today in recognition of Equal Pay Day — the day that marks how far into the new year women must work in order to catch up with what men were paid the year before. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For example, these are figures from New York</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New York: Working Women and the State’s Wage Gap</span></u></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSHq878exSwFiRx5DNBiaJ9P9fdlIIKFgD7uBF7L8W4Fsnqco9e5Q" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSHq878exSwFiRx5DNBiaJ9P9fdlIIKFgD7uBF7L8W4Fsnqco9e5Q" width="234" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In New York, on average, a woman working full time is paid $40,584 per year, while a man working full time is paid $49,174 per year. This creates a wage gap of $8,590 between full-time working men and women in the state.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What does the wage gap mean for working women in New York?</span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a group, full-time working women in New York lose approximately $22,340,027,689 each year due to the wage gap.ii If the wage gap were eliminated, New York’s working women and their families would have enough money for:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">• 64 more weeks of food (1.2 years’ worth);</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">• 4.4 more months of mortgage and utilities payments;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">• 9 more months of rent;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">• 3 more years of family health insurance premiums;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">• More than 2,000 additional gallons of gas.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The women of New York are increasingly responsible for the economic security of their families and cannot afford to face discrimination and lower wages.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">• More than 63 percent of working mothers in New York bring in more than a quarter of their</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">families’ income,viii and 1,050,106 households in New York are headed by women.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">• More than 26 percent of women-headed households in New York live below the poverty level.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eliminating the wage gap would provide critical income to 279,328 families living in poverty.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-39611767993691241822011-04-09T01:31:00.000-07:002011-04-09T01:34:47.435-07:00More about Post-Menopausal Hormone Treatment from Women's Health Initiative<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(<a href="http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/whi_faq.htm">Women's Health Initiative</a>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Q. Can you summarize the results of the estrogen-plus-progestin and estrogen-alone studies?</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>A.</b> Summaries of the findings are given below. However, be aware that the findings for the two studies should not be compared directly because of differences in the women's characteristics at the time of their enrollment in the studies. For example, those in the estrogen-alone study had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those in the estrogen-plus-progestin study. Women in the estrogen-alone study were more likely to have such heart disease risk factors as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Compared with the placebo, estrogen plus progestin resulted in:</i></div><ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li><div style="text-align: justify;">Increased risk of heart attack </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Increased risk of stroke </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Increased risk of blood clots </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Increased risk of breast cancer </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Reduced risk of colorectal cancer </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Fewer fractures </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">No protection against mild cognitive impairment and increased risk of dementia (study included only women 65 and older) </div></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Compared with the placebo, estrogen alone resulted in:</i></div><ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li><div style="text-align: justify;">No difference in risk for heart attack </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Increased risk of stroke </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Increased risk of blood clots </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Uncertain effect for breast cancer </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">No difference in risk for colorectal cancer </div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Reduced risk of fracture</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">(Findings about memory and cognitive function are not yet available.) </div><a name='more'></a></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos.demandstudios.com/150/80/fotolia_2018394_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://photos.demandstudios.com/150/80/fotolia_2018394_XS.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Q. What advice can you give to women about taking estrogen-alone and estrogen-plus-progestin therapy?</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>A.</b> We recommend that women follow the <a href="http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/estrogens_progestins/default.htm">FDA advice</a> on hormone (estrogen-alone or estrogen-plus-progestin) therapy. It states that hormone therapy should not be taken to prevent heart disease. These products are approved therapies for relief from moderate to severe hot flashes and symptoms of vulvar and vaginal atrophy. Although hormone therapy is effective for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis, it should only be considered for women at significant risk of osteoporosis who cannot take non-estrogen medications. The FDA recommends that hormone therapy be used at the lowest doses for the shortest duration needed to achieve treatment goals. Postmenopausal women who use or are considering using hormone therapy should discuss the possible benefits and risks to them with their physicians.<br />
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<strong>Q. Are there alternatives for postmenopausal hormone therapy?</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>A.</b> Alternatives exist for treating heart disease, osteoporosis, and the symptoms of menopause. Here's a quick rundown:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li><div style="text-align: justify;">With increasing age, a woman's risk for heart disease begins to rise. Risk factors for heart disease include smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, overweight/obesity, and diabetes. It's important to follow a heart-healthy lifestyle--this means not smoking, eating a variety of foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat, limiting salt and alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy weight, and being physically active. Sometimes, drugs also are needed to control high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, or diabetes. For those who already have heart disease, the same lifestyle measures can help keep the condition from worsening. In addition, drugs also may be needed to treat heart disease.<br />
<br />
</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">The risk of osteoporosis increases as women get older. To help prevent osteoporosis, one key step is to follow an eating plan that's rich in calcium and vitamin D. Further, moderate exposure to sunlight helps the body make vitamin D. Another key step is to engage in regular weight-bearing exercises. It's also important not to smoke and to limit alcohol--smoking causes the body to make less estrogen, which protects bones, and too many alcoholic beverages can increase the risk for falls. Osteoporosis is treated by stopping bone loss through lifestyle changes and medication. The drugs used include bisphosphonates, such as alendronate (Fosamax) or risedronate (Actonel), and selective estrogen receptor modulators such as raloxifene (Evista).<br />
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</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">Alternatives to hormone therapy exist for treating menopausal symptoms. For hot flashes, these include botanical products that contain or act like estrogens. Examples of botanicals are soy and herbs, such as black cohosh. However, limited research has yielded conflicting results on the safety and effectiveness of botanical products. Some antidepressants also are used for relief of hot flashes. They have not been approved for this use, but clinical trials have shown them to be a moderately effective treatment. Lifestyle changes can offer some relief from hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, especially those that are mildly to moderately bad. For instance, dress to avoid being too warm; reduce stress; avoid spicy foods, alcohol, and caffeine; get enough sleep; and be physically active. </div></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />
<strong>Q. How can women learn more about WHI and hormone therapy?</strong><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>A.</b> There are various sources of information, including online materials. Women can check out the following resources:</div><ul><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><li><div style="text-align: justify;">WHI and menopausal hormone therapy--the Websites of the <a href="http://www.nih.gov/">NIH</a>, the <a href="http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/index.htm">NHLBI</a>, and the <a href="http://www.fda.gov/">FDA</a>.<br />
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</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.wfubmc.edu/whims">WHI Memory Study (WHIMS)</a><br />
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</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/estrogens_progestins/default.htm">FDA statement on postmenopausal hormone therapy</a><br />
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</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/women/index.htm">Postmenopausal hormone therapy</a><br />
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</div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.nih.gov/PHTindex.htm">Menopausal hormone therapy information</a></div></li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-43360067288252848662011-04-02T02:35:00.000-07:002011-04-02T02:35:48.077-07:00UN Secretary-General outlines new recommendations to reach 2015 goals for AIDS response<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/images/featurestories/2011/03/KEN04-307.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/images/featurestories/2011/03/KEN04-307.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Launch of the Report of the Secretary-General. Nairobi, Kenya, 31 March 2011</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In lead-up to June High Level Meeting, progress report presents overview of efforts needed </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to help countries achieve universal access to HIV services and zero new HIV infections, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">discrimination and AIDS-related deaths.</span></i><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(<a href="http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/pressrelease/2011/20110331_PR_SGreport_en.pdf">UN Department of Public Information and UNAIDS</a>) Thirty years into the AIDS epidemic, investments in the AIDS </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">response are yielding results, according to a new report released today by United Nations </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Titled Uniting for universal access: towards zero new HIV </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths, the report highlights that the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">global rate of new HIV infections is declining, treatment access is expanding and the world </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">has made significant strides in reducing HIV transmission from mother to child. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Between 2001 and 2009, the rate of new HIV infections in 33 countries—including 22 in subSaharan Africa—fell by at least 25%. By the end of 2010, more than 6 million people were </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on antiretroviral treatment in low- and middle-income countries. And for the first time, in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2009, global coverage of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV exceeded </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50%.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But despite the recent achievements, the report underscores that the gains are fragile. For every </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">person who starts antiretroviral treatment, two people become newly infected with HIV. Every </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">day 7 000 people are newly infected, including 1 000 children. Weak national infrastructures,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">financing shortfalls and discrimination against vulnerable populations are among the factors that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">continue to impede access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Secretary-General’s report, based on data submitted by 182 countries, provides five </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">key recommendations that will be reviewed by global leaders at a UN General Assembly </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">High Level Meeting on AIDS, 8–10 June 2011.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“World leaders have a unique opportunity at this critical moment to evaluate achievements </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and gaps in the global AIDS response,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the press </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">briefing in the Kenyan capital. “We must take bold decisions that will dramatically transform </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the AIDS response and help us move towards an HIV-free generation.”</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Thirty years into the epidemic, it is imperative for us to re-energise the response today for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">success in the years ahead,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, who joined Mr Ban </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">for the launch of the report. “Gains in HIV prevention and antiretroviral treatment are significant, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but we need to do more to stop people from becoming infected—an HIV prevention revolution is</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">needed now more than ever.” </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/images/featurestories/2011/03/KEN02-307.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/images/featurestories/2011/03/KEN02-307.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé with Rebecca Auma Awiti</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rebecca Auma Awiti, a mother living with HIV and field coordinator with the nongovernmental organization Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya told her story at the press </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">conference. “Thanks to the universal access movement, my three children were born HIVfree and I am able to see them grow up because of treatment access,” she said. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Mobilizing for impact </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the report there are five recommendations made by the UN Secretary-General to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">strengthen the AIDS response:</span><br />
<br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Harness the energy of young people for an HIV prevention revolution;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Revitalize the push towards achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">care and support by 2015;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Work with countries to make HIV programmes more cost effective, efficient and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sustainable;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Promote the health, human rights and dignity of women and girls; and</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ensure mutual accountability in the AIDS response to translate commitments into </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">action.</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Secretary-General calls upon all stakeholders to support the recommendations in the report </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and use them to work towards realizing six global targets:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reduce by 50% the sexual transmission of HIV—including among key populations, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">such as young people, men who have sex with men, in the context of sex work; and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">prevent all new HIV infections as a result of injecting drug use;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eliminate HIV transmission from mother to child;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reduce by 50% tuberculosis deaths in people living with HIV;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ensure HIV treatment for 13 million people;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reduce by 50% the number of countries with HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and residence; and</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ensure equal access to education for children orphaned and made vulnerable by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">AIDS.</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As international funding for HIV assistance declined for the first time in 2009, the report </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">encourages countries to prioritize funding for HIV programmes, including low- and middleincome countries that have the ability to cover their own HIV-related costs. It also stresses </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the importance of shared responsibility and accountability to ensure the AIDS response has </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sufficient resources for the coming years.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/document/2011/20110331_SG_report_en.pdf">Click here for the full report</a> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.unaids.org/en/aboutunaids/unitednationsdeclarationsandgoals/2011highlevelmeetingonaids/">Click here for more on the 2011 High Level Meeting on AIDS</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Contacts </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">UNAIDS Geneva </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">| Sophie Barton-Knott | +41 22 791 1697 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">| bartonknotts@unaids.org</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">UNAIDS Nairobi </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">| Saira Stewart | +41 79 467 2013 | stewarts@unaids.org </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">| Esther Gathiri-Kimotho | +254 20 762 6718 | gathirikimothoe@unaids.org</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">UN Department of Public Information New York </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">| Vikram Sura | +1 212 963 8274 | </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sura@un.org</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">|Pragati Pascale | +1 212 963 6870 | </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pascale@un.org</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-62875782604335836182011-04-02T01:50:00.000-07:002011-04-02T02:01:34.964-07:00After 30 years, war on AIDS at 'moment of truth'<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iBb8LoaaKLsLG8_A_3sV2t6XsqeQ?docId=CNG.dae2205a599c0050cf6097e517aac92f.6e1">AFP</a>) With the war on AIDS nearing its 30th anniversary, the UN on Thursday declared "a moment of truth" had come for new strategies to address the campaign's failures and brake costs that were now unsustainable.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.raxanreeb.com/wp-content/uploads/ban-ki-moon1-300x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://www.raxanreeb.com/wp-content/uploads/ban-ki-moon1-300x200.jpg" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"We have a unique opportunity to take stock of the progress and to critically and honestly assess the barriers that keep us shackled to a reality in which the epidemic continues to outpace the response," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report issued in Nairobi.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 30th anniversary of AIDS is generally recognised as June 5.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It marks the date in 1981 when US epidemiologists reported on mysterious cases of fatal pneumonia among young gays. In 1983, French scientists pinned the cause on a new pathogen, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which destroyed the immune system in heterosexuals and homosexuals alike.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"AIDS has claimed more than 25 million lives and more than 60 million people have become infected with HIV," Ban said in his progress report on the disease.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Each day, more than 7,000 people are newly infected with the virus, including 1,000 children. No country has escaped the devastation of this truly global epidemic."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ban said there had been many pluses over the past three decades, notably getting AIDS drugs to more than six million badly-infected people in poor countries.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But at this point, "the HIV response faces a moment of truth," he said.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Among the problems he highlighted was "a wholly unsustainable" rise in costs and a flatlining in resources, which have remained at under 16 billion dollars a year since late 2007.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">More and more people are becoming infected, which means they will eventually join the numbers of patients who eventually need AIDS drugs, a treatment that has to be taken daily for the rest of one's life.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ban spelt out ways by which countries could meet a target set last December 1 on World AIDS Day, of "zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths" by 2015.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Of course progress has been frustratingly taking a long time," he admitted at a press conference.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But, he added, "I am sure that by 2015 we will have a much greater progress in our common efforts in fighting against HIV."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He called on member states to carry out a "prevention revolution," in which member states would commit to reducing sexual transmission of HIV by 50 percent by 2015.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Approaches should include new methods that have been validated by science, such as the use of male circumcision, which reduces the risk of female-to-male infection by around 60 percent. In the past two years, more than 200,000 men have been circumcised in 13 countries with a high prevalence of the HIV.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.topnews.in/files/hiv-aids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.topnews.in/files/hiv-aids.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the pipeline are promising trials involving a vaginal microbicide, to help women fend off HIV infection, and the use of AIDS drugs as a prevention against the virus, rather than treatment for it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ban also urged countries to ensure that all 13 million people who will need drugs by 2015 have access to them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But a massive effort will be needed to brake the upward trajectory in costs, using smart but effective methods, he said.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The report called for a 50-percent reduction in fatalities from tuberculosis, the leading cause of death among people with HIV, and for the elimination of the transmission of HIV from infected mothers to their babies.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"It is a grave global injustice that 370,000 newborns contract HIV in low- and middle-income countries each year, while vertical transmission has been virtually eliminated in high-income countries," Ban said.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The UN chief also called for a bonfire of the regulations that targeted people with HIV. He urged member states to commit to reducing by half the number of countries with HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The appeal is the third major initiative on AIDS to be launched by the United Nations in the past decade.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The two previous ones were the "Three by Five" goal of providing three million people with AIDS drugs by the end of 2005, and the objective of universal access to these drugs by the end of 2010.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both initiatives fell short of their mark although the UN says they generated momentum, especially in building medical infrastructure in poor countries.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-22244107229247363682011-03-27T12:47:00.000-07:002011-03-27T12:47:01.095-07:00Closing the gender gap in agriculture: FAO report says invest in female farmers(<a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/52011/icode/">Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations</a>) If women in rural areas had the same access to land, technology, financial services, education and markets as men, agricultural production could be increased and the number of hungry people reduced by 100-150 million, FAO said in its 2010-11 edition of The State of Food and Agriculture.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/farmwoman_000447_tnb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/farmwoman_000447_tnb.png" width="145" /></a></div>Yields on plots managed by women are lower than those managed by men, the report said. But this is not because women are worse farmers than men. They simply do not have the same access to inputs. If they did, their yields would go up, they would produce more and overall agricultural production would increase, the report said.<br />
<br />
"The report makes a powerful business case for promoting gender equality in agriculture," said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. <br />
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"Gender equality is not just a lofty ideal, it is also crucial for agricultural development and food security. We must promote gender equality and empower women in agriculture to win, sustainably, the fight against hunger and extreme poverty," he added.<br />
<a name='more'></a> <br />
<strong>Closing yield gaps reaps gains for all </strong><br />
Just giving women the same access as men to agricultural resources could increase production on women's farms in developing countries by 20 to 30 percent. This could raise total agricultural production in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 percent, which could in turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 percent, or 100 to 150 million people. An estimated 925 million people in the world were undernourished in 2010, of which 906 million live in developing countries. <br />
<br />
"We must eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, ensure that access to resources is more equal and that agricultural policies and programmes are gender-aware, and make women's voices heard in decision-making at all levels. Women must be seen as equal partners in sustainable development," Diouf said. <br />
<br />
<strong>Women's work<br />
</strong>Women make up on average 43 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries, ranging from 20% in Latin America to almost 50% in East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The share is higher in some countries and varies greatly within countries.<br />
<br />
Where rural women are employed, they tend to be segregated into lower paid occupations and are more likely to be in less secure forms of employment, such as seasonal, part-time or low-wage jobs. <br />
<br />
New jobs in high-value export-oriented agro-industries offer better opportunities for women than traditional agriculture, the report says.<br />
<br />
<strong>Mind the gap<br />
</strong>The report documents gender gaps in the access to a wide range of agricultural resources, including land, livestock, farm labour, education, extension services, credit, fertilizers and mechanical equipment.<br />
<br />
Women in all regions generally have less access to land than men. For those developing countries for which data are available, between 3 and 20 percent of all landholders are women. The share of women in the agricultural labour force is much higher and ranges from 20 to 50 percent in developing country regions. <br />
<br />
"Women farmers typically achieve lower yields than men, not because they are less skilled, but because they operate smaller farms and use fewer inputs like fertilizers, improved seeds and tools," said Terri Raney, editor of the SOFA report. <br />
<br />
<strong>Leveling the ploughing field<br />
</strong>"Evidence from many countries shows that policies can promote gender equality and empower women in agriculture and rural employment. The first priority is to eliminate discrimination under the law," Raney said. "In many countries women do not have the same rights as men to buy, sell or inherit land, to open a savings account or borrow money, to sign a contract or sell their produce. Where legal rights exist on paper, they often are not honored in practice."<br />
<br />
Government officials must be held accountable for upholding the law and women must be aware of their rights and empowered to claim them.<br />
<br />
Women face multiple constraints in agriculture arising from the complex nature of agricultural production and from competing demands on their time. To be effective, interventions must be "bundled" so they treat these constraints together, the report says.<br />
<br />
Policies and institutions often have different impacts on men and women - even when no explicit discrimination is intended. "Men and women have different roles in society and face different opportunities and constraints," said Raney. "We can't make good agricultural policy unless we consider gender differences."<br />
<br />
<strong>Building human capital<br />
</strong>In addition to increasing overall agricultural production, closing the gender gap in agriculture would also put more income in the hands of women - a proven strategy for improving health, nutrition and education outcomes for children. <br />
<br />
"One of the best investments we can make is in building the human capital of women and girls - basic education, market information and agricultural extension services are essential building blocks for agricultural productivity and economic growth," Raney said.<br />
<br />
Click <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i2050e/i2050e00.htm">here </a>to download chapters of the report, click <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i2050e/i2050e.pdf">here</a> to view the full report.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-63554101131380562692011-03-23T11:44:00.000-07:002011-03-23T23:23:42.225-07:00World Health Organisation releases list of medicines vital for saving mothers and children<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://maxcdn.fooyoh.com/files/attach/images/591/201/161/005/mother_child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://maxcdn.fooyoh.com/files/attach/images/591/201/161/005/mother_child.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Improving maternal and child health is a global priority. An estimated 8.1 million children under the age of five die every year and an estimated 1,000 women – most of them in developing countries – die every day due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many of these deaths are due to conditions that could be prevented or treated with access to simple, affordable medicines. However, the availability of medicines at public-health facilities is often poor. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This list of Priority Medicines for Mothers and Children was developed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF to help countries and partners select and make available those medicines that will have the biggest impact on reducing maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Contact</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">World Health Organization Department of Essential Medicines and Pharmaceutical Policies</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Email: pedmeds@who.int</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Email: mncah@who.int</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><b>Priority medicines for mothers and children 2011 WHO/EMP/MAR/2011.</b></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>1. Priority medicines for mothers</u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Post-partum haemorrhage</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obstetric haemorrhage is the world’s leading cause of maternal mortality causing an estimated 127,000 maternal deaths annually. Postpartum haemorrhage is the most common type and studies suggest that it may cause up to 50% percent of all maternal deaths in developing countries.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oxytocin:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>10IU in 1-ml ampoule</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sodium chloride: injectable solution 0.9% isotonic or Sodium lactate compound solution– injectable (Ringer’s lactate)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are major health problems in developing countries. Every year, eclampsia is associated with an estimated 50 000 maternal deaths worldwide.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Calcium gluconate injection (for treatment of magnesium toxicity): 100 mg/ml in a 10-ml<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>ampoule</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Magnesium sulfate: injection<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> 500mg/ml in a 2-ml ampoule, 500mg/ml in a 10ml ampoule</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Maternal sepsis</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Infection can follow an abortion or childbirth and is a major cause of death. Sepsis that is not related to unsafe abortion accounts for up to 15% of maternal deaths in developing countries. The majority of unsafe abortions take place in developing countries.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ampicillin: powder for injection 500 mg; 1g (as a sodium salt) in vial</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gentamicin: injection 10 mg; 40 mg/ml in a 2-ml vial</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Metronidazole: injection 500mg in a 100-ml vial</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Misoprostol: tablet 200µg</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Sexually transmitted infections </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nearly a million people acquire a sexually transmitted infection, including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), every day. After pregnancy-related causes, sexually transmitted infections are the second most important cause of healthy life lost in women. The results of infection include acute symptoms, chronic infection, and serious delayed consequences such as infertility, ectopic pregnancy, cervical cancer, and the untimely deaths of infants and adults. Many sexually transmitted infections affect the outcome of pregnancy and some are passed to unborn and newborn babies.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Uncomplicated genital chlamydial infections:</span></li>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Azithromycin:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>capsule<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>250mg; 500mg or oral liquid 20mg/5ml</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gonococcal infection – uncomplicated anogenital infection:</span></li>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cefixime: capsule 400mg</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Syphilis:</span></li>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Benzathine benzyl penicillin: powder for injection 900mg benzyl penicillin in a 5-ml vial; 1.44g benzyl penicillin in a 5-ml vial.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Preterm birth </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The incidence of preterm birth is approximately 6–7% of all births. Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality both in developed and developing countries, accounting for an estimated 24% of neonatal deaths.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Betamethasone: injection 5.7 mg/ml as<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>betamethasone sodium phosphate 3.9mg (in solution) or betamethasone acetate 3mg (in suspension) in an aqueous vehicle or Dexamethasone – injection 4 mg dexamethasone phosphate<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(as disodium salt) in 1-ml ampoule</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nifedipine: immediate<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>release capsule 10mg<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>2. Priority medicines for children under five years of age</u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Pneumonia</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pneumonia is the single biggest cause of death in children, killing an estimated 1.6 million children under the age of five years annually and accounting for 18% of all deaths of children under five years old worldwide.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amoxicillin: dispersible, scored tablets 250mg and<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>500mg or equivalent flexible oral solid dosage form, in blister packs of 10</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ampicillin: powder for<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>injection 500mg and 1g</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ceftriaxone: powder for injection 250mg and 1g</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gentamicin: injection 20mg/ml</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oxygen: medicinal gas</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Procaine benzylpenicillin: powder for injection 1g and 3g</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Diarrhoea</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death and a leading cause of malnutrition in children under five years old, killing more than 1.3 million children every year.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS): sachets of 200ml; 500ml and 1 litre, appropriate flavour</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Zinc: 20 mg scored dispersible tablet or equivalent flexible oral solid dosage form</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Malaria</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every 45 seconds a child dies of malaria in Africa. In 2008, there were 247 million cases of malaria and nearly one million deaths – mostly among children living in Africa. Artemisinin combination therapy (ACT): strengths and combinations<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> according to WHO treatment guidelines 2010, dispersible tablet or flexible<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>oral solid dosage form<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>and dose optimized</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Artesunate: rectal and<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>injection dosage forms<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>50–200 mg </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Neonatal sepsis </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One quarter of the estimated 3.6 million neonatal deaths around the world each year are caused by severe infections, and around 528 000 of those are due to neonatal sepsis alone.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ceftriaxone: powder for injection 250 mg and 1 g<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gentamicin: injection<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>20 mg/ml</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Procaine benzylpenicillin: powder for injection 1g and 3g<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>HIV</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An estimated 2.1 million children were living with HIV at the end of 2008, 1.8 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Most infections are the result of transmission from mother to child. Without effective treatment, an estimated one third of infected infants will have died by one year of age, and about half will have died by two years of age.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Standard regimen for first-line anti-retroviral treatment: 1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>inhibitor plus 2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors such<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>as the fixed dose combination<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>of lamivudine +<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> nevirapine + zidovudine - tablet 30mg + 50 mg + 60 mg; 150 mg+ 200 mg + 300 mg </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For treatment<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>of specific populations, see the latest<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>WHO treatment guidelines<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Vitamin A deficiency</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vitamin A deficiency is a recognized risk factor for severe measles. An estimated 164 000 people died from measles in 2008 – mostly children under the age of five.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vitamin A: capsule<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>100<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>000<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>IU<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>strength;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>200<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>000<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>IU strength</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Palliative care and pain </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although means to relieve severe pain are widely available, their use in children is often limited.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Morphine:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>granules<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>20 mg, 30 mg,<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>60 mg, 100<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>mg, 200 mg, injection 10 mg/ml, oral liquid 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>mg/5<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>ml, variable flexible oral solid dosage forms</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Paracetamol: variable flexible oral<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>solid<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>dosage forms .</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">World Health Organization 2011. All reasonable precautions have been taken by the World Health Organization to verify the information contained in this publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the material lies with the reader. In no event shall the World Health Organization be<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>liable<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>for damages arising from its use.</span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-78050054106497113212011-03-19T03:13:00.000-07:002011-03-19T03:32:03.744-07:00Pregnancy myths not backed by science<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.school.clipartguide.com/_thumbs/1552-0911-2921-5555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.school.clipartguide.com/_thumbs/1552-0911-2921-5555.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">By Kendall Powell</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(<a href="http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-pregnancy-myths-20110314,0,4120860,full.story">LA Times</a>) Once a woman becomes visibly pregnant, it isn't long before she's being asked extremely personal questions by complete strangers:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Are you going to have an epidural or go natural?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"You're not drinking alcohol, are you?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Have you tried ginger for your morning sickness?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Often, such questions are followed up with unsolicited advice based on folk wisdom or anecdotes.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Myths and folklore about pregnancy, labor and delivery abound. They persist in part because of the difficulties in conducting properly controlled scientific studies on pregnant and breast-feeding women and their newborns. In particular, researchers are loath to test medicines on pregnant women in the wake of the thalidomide disaster.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Much of the advice women get is relatively harmless — abstain from alcohol, caffeine and sex — but because of the research gap, it often isn't backed up by rigorous scientific study. Putting women on bed rest to prevent miscarriages is a prime example: There's very little evidence of effectiveness, yet it persists in medical practice for lack of better, research-based treatment options. "Pregnancy and birth are two of the greatest unknowns in science," says Tonia Moore-Davis, director of the nurse-midwife practice at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Such recommendations can seem like benign ways of ensuring a healthy pregnancy and baby, but the pressures on women pile up: Eat only the best foods (or your baby won't like broccoli later), gain weight in a very narrow range (or your child will be diabetic and obese); breast-feed exclusively for six months (even if you have to go back to work in six weeks).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the last year, however, several studies or reviews of studies have looked carefully at popular pregnancy recommendations, and what they've found turns some of the folk wisdom on its head. Here's a look at what scientific evidence can really tell us — or not — about five topics in pregnancy, labor and delivery. Knowing what the science says gives women the chance to make their own informed decisions instead of relying on Internet rumors, kaffeeklatsch gossip and well-meaning, but sometimes uninformed, advice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.leehansen.com/clipart/Themes/Babies/thumbs/pregnant-mom-darkskin-th.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.leehansen.com/clipart/Themes/Babies/thumbs/pregnant-mom-darkskin-th.gif" width="52" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>No good options for morning sickness</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though it's not a life-threatening condition, nausea associated with pregnancy is exhausting and miserable and can cause major losses in productivity. Unfortunately, research into effective treatments is lacking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's seen as a 'normal' sign of pregnancy. But most women do suffer the effects of it, and the psychological effect can really get to people," says Anne Matthews, a midwife and lecturer of nursing at Dublin City University in Ireland. She's noticed more women turning to therapies such as acupressure, ginger and vitamin B6. "But there's a need for evidence. We don't really know if these are safe or effective."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Curious, she and a team of researchers reviewed the scientific literature to see which morning-sickness treatments had been tested in randomized, controlled trials. They found only 27 studies since 1959 that met the criteria. Treatments included acupuncture, acupressure, ginger, vitamin B6 and anti-nausea drugs such as hydroxyzine, thiethylperazine and doxylamine combined with B6. The review, published in September by the Cochrane Library, found that none of the remedies had enough scientific evidence behind them to be deemed effective.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We were disappointed," Matthews says. "I'd prefer to have a clearer message. But there just isn't enough strong, reliable evidence to say whether things don't work or do work."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Her regretful recommendation to nauseated women: "Strictly speaking, I would have to say, nothing."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.leehansen.com/clipart/Themes/Babies/images/pregnant-blue.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.leehansen.com/clipart/Themes/Babies/images/pregnant-blue.gif" width="52" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Sex during pregnancy is safe for most</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is one of the most common questions obstetricians get from patients: When is it OK to have sex during pregnancy?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Many patients and their partners are afraid about having sex," says Dr. Claire Jones, a resident physician in obstetrics and gynecology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto. "People turn to the Internet for this kind of information, and the things you can read there are ridiculous."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yet from a review she co-authored (published in January in the Canadian Medical Assn. Journal), the findings were clear: "For healthy women who have an otherwise healthy pregnancy, there is no reason not to have sex and enjoy it."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's not the case for all women, she cautions. Those with a condition called placenta previa, in which the placenta covers the opening of the cervix, should abstain because there is a risk that anything penetrating the cervix could cause bleeding from the placenta.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Women at risk for preterm labor are usually told to abstain as well. Most of the studies that have looked at this issue concluded that the chance of sex causing preterm labor was only higher in women who also had a lower genital tract infection. But because such infections can go unnoticed during pregnancy, doctors err on the side of caution and recommend avoiding sex if you are at risk for preterm labor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some couples think that sexual intercourse near the end of pregnancy might induce labor. There is good theory behind this popular belief: The hormone released by orgasm, oxytocin, is the same one doctors use to induce labor. In addition, semen contains molecules called prostaglandins, which are also used by doctors inducing labor to help "ripen" the cervix. The few studies examining this question have been inconclusive, Jones says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Every doctor has anecdotes of patients who have tried it and went into labor the next day," Jones says. For uncomplicated pregnancies, she says it's safe for couples wanting to kick-start labor to try.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.babytidings.com/images/11/b2301912aa/img_b2301912aa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images.babytidings.com/images/11/b2301912aa/img_b2301912aa1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Light drinking of alcohol may be OK</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's well known that moderate, heavy or binge alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, which can include facial deformities, low birth weight, delayed development, mental retardation and heart and other birth defects. But until recently, no one had taken a close look at the consequences of much lower levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the U.S., complete abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy is promoted by the surgeon general, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health agencies. That's because no one has ever conducted (nor likely will ever conduct) a study to determine if there is a safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Scientists were, however, able to get at the issue by taking advantage of more lenient attitudes that exist in Britain, where the Department of Health recommends that if pregnant women choose to drink, they should have no more than two drinks once or twice per week to protect a baby's health.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yvonne Kelly, an epidemiologist at University of Essex in Colchester, England, and colleagues analyzed data from more than 18,500 families with children born between September 2000 and July 2002. "We weren't setting out to say, 'Drink during pregnancy; it's good for you.' Rather, we were asking, 'Are these children really not at any increased risk [for problems] from light drinking?' " Kelly says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The answer, she says, was very conclusively no — even after the team adjusted the stats as much as they could to rule out the influence of factors such as socioeconomic status, mother's health and age and parenting styles. Children born to mothers who drank an average of one to two drinks per week during pregnancy (or one to two drinks on a special occasion) had kids who performed just as well in cognitive and behavioral tests at age 3 and 5 as those born to women who usually drank alcohol but abstained during pregnancy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Children born to light drinkers don't appear to be at any increased risk for difficulties compared to women who chose not to drink in pregnancy," says Kelly of the finding, published in October in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. But, she adds, "never, ever get drunk during pregnancy — it's bad for you and the child you are carrying."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pamsclipart.com/clipart_images/boy_touching_his_moms_pregnant_belly_0515-0911-2921-5251_SMU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.pamsclipart.com/clipart_images/boy_touching_his_moms_pregnant_belly_0515-0911-2921-5251_SMU.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Trying labor after a previous caesarean</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) revised its guidelines to doctors on vaginal birth after caesarean, or VBAC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the past, obstetricians had become increasingly concerned that women who had a scar across their uterus from a prior caesarean delivery and were at an increased risk of uterine rupture might suffer complications that could threaten the life of mom and baby. That perception fueled policies at hospitals, mainly dictated by liability insurance carriers that were unwilling to accept the extremely low but catastrophic risk of maternal and newborn death due to uterine rupture.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, in 2010 the National Institutes of Health compiled the evidence from major VBAC studies, which included more than 20,000 women. It clearly showed how low the risks actually were, even for women who had had two previous caesarean deliveries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For women with a normal pregnancy who had one previous caesarean, the risk of uterine rupture is less than 1%, the studies showed. For women with two previous caesareans, the risk is slightly higher but is still less than 2%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The risk of maternal death (about .02%) was not increased at all compared with women who elected to have a repeat caesarean.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In its updated guidelines, changed to reflect the new data, ACOG concluded that a woman should be allowed to try for a VBAC provided she has none of the risk factors that can hinder vaginal birth and that the hospital has the capability to perform an emergency caesarean if needed. This usually means having an anesthesiologist on duty 24 hours. The new guidelines also allow a woman with two prior caesareans and a woman carrying twins to be candidates for VBACs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"No one should be coerced into an operation they don't want," says Dr. William Grobman, maternal and fetal medicine specialist at Northwestern University in Chicago, who co-wrote the guidelines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But, he adds, women and their providers should have early discussions to find a hospital that can safely accommodate trying for a VBAC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On average, about 70% of women who try for a VBAC are successful, but for any individual woman and pregnancy, the chances may be much higher or lower depending on factors such as the baby's predicted weight and position at time of labor, and a mother's previous history of failed labors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grobman notes that, from a public health perspective too, women who fit the criteria should be encouraged to try for a VBAC — a successful vaginal birth is better for a mom's health and her future deliveries. But, he adds, it remains to be seen whether hospitals will change their policies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mutengo.co.za/clipart/_pregnant.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.mutengo.co.za/clipart/_pregnant.JPG" width="131" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Epidurals don't hinder breast-feeding</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Around 70% of women in the U.S. receive epidural analgesia, an infusion of pain-blocking medicine directly to the spinal cord, during labor and delivery. A heavy dose of misinformation swirls around this common practice, handed down among women and on Internet forums. In part, this is due to the culture of childbirth education in the U.S., which largely favors natural or unmedicated birth as the best option for mother, baby and breast-feeding success.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many women are wrongly advised that getting an epidural will slow down and prolong labor, leading to an increased chance of a forceps- or vacuum-assisted delivery or a caesarean. These and the epidural medicine itself, they are told, will make it harder to successfully establish breast-feeding in the hours and days after delivery because the newborn will be groggy, sluggish or sleepy from the medicines or experience of a "medicalized" birth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Almost all of these ideas about epidurals have been debunked by research in the last decade (see related article), but the beliefs persist. That sets up many women to forego, or feel guilty about, what is arguably the most effective and safest form of pain relief for labor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2006, an Australian study grabbed headlines when it seemed to confirm that the fentanyl medicine used in epidurals caused breast-feeding problems in newborns. But the study was extremely flawed, say researchers, in part because every woman who received an epidural also got a shot of pethidine (Demerol), a long-acting narcotic. Such narcotics are well-known to make babies groggy after delivery, so the breast-feeding troubles could easily have been caused by the pethidine alone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nonetheless, in the minds of natural childbirth advocates and the breast-feeding support community, fentanyl was the culprit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are medical reasons to suggest that probably isn't so. Although fentanyl, just like pethidine, is an opioid narcotic, the dose that goes into the spinal column during an epidural is small, and the amounts that get into the mother's bloodstream, across the placenta and into baby's bloodstream are tiny. What's more, fentanyl is a short-acting narcotic, meaning its effects are cleared in a matter of minutes to hours after the epidural catheter delivering the medicine is removed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dr. Matthew Wilson and other members of an epidural study group based in Britain realized they had the data to better test whether fentanyl was the bad guy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a study published last year in the journal Anaesthesia, they directly compared more than 1,000 women who had been randomly chosen to receive different types of epidurals — ones with and without fentanyl — and women who had no epidural at all. A day after delivery, the women were asked if they had established breast-feeding. One year later, they were asked how long they had breast-fed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There was really no difference between any of the groups" in terms of breast-feeding success, says Wilson, an obstetric anesthesiologist at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, England. "There was no evidence that fentanyl in an epidural has an effect on breast-feeding nor that having an epidural per se affects breast-feeding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A woman considering an epidural "can be reassured that she's not reducing her chance of successful breast-feeding," he concludes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lactation experts remain unconvinced. "Different interventions at birth have a huge effect on breast-feeding down the road, because those first couple of weeks [are when] milk production is established and set," says Teresa Pitman, former executive director of La Leche League Canada, a breast-feeding support network, and co-author of "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Breast-feeding, she says, is the most complex behavior newborns must master: locating the nipple, latching on, sucking with the tongue placed properly and coordinating breathing with swallowing. Even a tiny amount of medicine might disrupt it, she argues. Higher rates of assisted deliveries could cause headaches in babies, overly swollen breasts from the intravenous fluids given along with epidurals, and post-epidural fevers that cause moms and babies to be separated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wilson and other anesthesiologists contend these ideas are based on speculation and not rigorous research. Dr. William Camann, head of obstetric anesthesiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and co-author of "Easy Labor," calls the idea that epidural medications could affect a baby weeks later "completely ridiculous."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"If epidurals were dangerous or had downsides, three-fourths of women would not be getting them. The babies come out screaming, crying, and vigorous," he says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anesthesiologists and natural childbirth advocates do agree on some points, however:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Narcotic injections, delivered intravenously or into muscle, are riskier for a baby's health and successful breast-feeding than epidurals. "Narcotics are not good for baby and breast-feeding; they affect baby's initial alertness and ability to breast-feed," Camann says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Adds Pitman: "With good help, most moms and babies can overcome any difficulties with breast-feeding and be successful."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.baby-clipart.net/pics/pregnant_women.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.baby-clipart.net/pics/pregnant_women.gif" width="149" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Making personal decisions</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Choices about sex, alcohol and labor pain relief are made within each woman's personal and cultural context. Kelly, Wilson and others say they hope their research has added valuable information that will enable women to make the best informed decisions during pregnancy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moore-Davis says that women should be asking their healthcare providers a series of questions about choices during pregnancy: "Can you tell me what the risk of that is? What are the benefits? What evidence supports your decisions in practice?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And Kelly notes that a medically paternalistic view of pregnancy still exists that relies heavily on the precautionary principle, or the 'when in doubt, leave it out' approach. But, she says, "women are capable of making informed decisions based on the available evidence — it's fairly insulting to assume they cannot."</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-29175238749649631582011-03-08T04:25:00.000-08:002011-03-08T04:25:10.459-08:00James Bond on International Womens Day: “We’re Equals Aren’t We?”<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gkp4t5NYzVM?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gkp4t5NYzVM?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-17288812938112892612011-03-06T10:18:00.000-08:002011-03-06T10:22:06.982-08:00Use of prescription painkillers during pregnancy may cause birth defects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div sb_id="ms__id102"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(<a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2011/03/02/cdc-links-prescription-painkillers-in-pregnancy-to-birth-defects">HealthDay News</a>) -- Moms-to-be who take prescription opioid painkillers such as codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone (Oxycontin) may increase the risk of birth defects in their newborns, according to a new U.S. government report. (<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/features/birthdefects-Opioid-Analgesics-keyfindings.html">Click here to view report</a>)</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a _counted="undefined" _eventid="29" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8914707670837771149&postID=1728881293811289261" id="read_more" sb_id="ms__id109"></a> </span><br />
<div sb_id="ms__id110"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thepregnancyzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/addiction-to-painkillers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://www.thepregnancyzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/addiction-to-painkillers.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><div sb_id="ms__id110"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taking these types of analgesics just prior to pregnancy or in the early stages of pregnancy was linked to a modest risk of congenital heart defects in an ongoing population study, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</span></div><a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The risk for spina bifida, hydrocephaly, congenital glaucoma and gastroschisis was also heightened, the report said.</span><br />
<div sb_id="ms__id112"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id112"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Women who are pregnant, or thinking about becoming pregnant, should know there are risks associated with using prescription painkillers," said CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, in an agency news release. "They should only take medications that are essential, in consultation with their health care provider." </span></div><div sb_id="ms__id113"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id113"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the study of data from 10 states, the CDC researchers found that 2 percent to 3 percent of mothers interviewed received prescription opioid pain killers, or analgesics, just before they got pregnant or early in their pregnancy. Any illicit use of painkillers was not assessed. </span></div><div sb_id="ms__id114"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id114"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For those women, the risk of having a baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome -- a critical heart defect -- was about double that of women who took no opioid drugs. </span></div><div sb_id="ms__id115"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id115"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About 40,000 infants are born with congenital heart defects in the United States each year. Many of these babies die within a year, while the surviving infants may undergo lengthy hospitalizations, multiple operations and ongoing treatment for related medical problems, the CDC said. </span></div><div sb_id="ms__id116"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id116"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to the report, published in the <i sb_id="ms__id117">American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology</i>, the safety of most medications taken during pregnancy has not been established. </span></div><div sb_id="ms__id118"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id118"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many factors may influence the risks, including: how much medication a woman takes; at what stage of pregnancy she takes it; any other health conditions she has; and any other medications she takes. </span></div><div sb_id="ms__id119"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id119"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, the study authors noted that the risk from prescription painkillers in any one pregnancy is small. </span></div><div sb_id="ms__id120"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id120"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"It's important to acknowledge that although there is an increased risk for some types of major birth defects from an exposure to opioid analgesics, that absolute risk for any individual woman is relatively modest," lead author Cheryl S. Broussard, of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in the news release.</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id121"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id121"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"However, with very serious and life-threatening birth defects like hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the prevention of even a small number of cases is very important," she said, adding that it's important for any woman who is pregnant or planning to become pregnant talk to her doctor before taking any medication.</span></div><div sb_id="ms__id122"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The CDC said its National Birth Defects Prevention Study is the largest ever done on causes of birth defects in the United States.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-24344287788903966232011-03-02T14:20:00.000-08:002011-03-02T14:20:20.265-08:00Half of men may have HPV infections: study(<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/us-cancer-vaccine-idUSTRE7200CJ20110301">Reuters</a>) - Half of men in the general population may be infected with human papillomavirus or HPV, the human wart virus that causes cervical and other cancers, strengthening the case for vaccinating boys against HPV, U.S. researchers said on Monday.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bluegyn.free.fr/spip/local/cache-vignettes/L500xH269/time_after_hpv_infection_neu-2-9e85e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" l6="true" src="http://bluegyn.free.fr/spip/local/cache-vignettes/L500xH269/time_after_hpv_infection_neu-2-9e85e.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>U.S. vaccine advisers have been weighing whether boys and young men should be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, as they already recommend for girls and young women, but some worry the vaccine is too costly to justify its use.<br />
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HPV infection is best known as the primary cause of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide. But various strains of HPV also cause anal, penile, head and neck cancers. Vaccinating men and boys would prevent some of these cancers.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_3"></span>Anna Giuliano of the H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, and colleagues studied infection rates among more than 1,100 men aged 18 to 70 in the United States, Brazil and <a href="http://www.blogger.com/places/mexico" onclick="Reuters.article.trackInlineLink(7)" title="Full coverage of Mexico">Mexico</a> to get a snapshot of the natural progression of HPV infection in men.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_4"></span>"We found that there is a high proportion of men who have genital HPV infections. At enrollment, it was 50 percent," said Giuliano, whose study appears online in the journal Lancet.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_5"></span>The team also found that the rate at which men acquire new HPV infections is very similar to women.<br />
<span id="midArticle_6"></span>And they found that about 6 percent of men per year will get a new HPV 16 infection, the strain that is known for causing cervical cancer in women and other cancers in men.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_7"></span>Vaccines made by Merck & Co and GlaxoSmithKline both offer protection against this strain of HPV.<br />
<span id="midArticle_8"></span>"The biology seems to be very similar (to women)," Giuliano said in a telephone interview.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_9"></span>"What is different is men seem to have high prevalence of genital HPV infections throughout their lifespans."<br />
<span id="midArticle_10"></span>She said it appears that women are better able to clear an HPV infection, especially as they age, but men do not appear to have this same ability.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_11"></span>Vaccine experts said the study builds momentum for widespread HPV vaccination among boys.<br />
<span id="midArticle_12"></span>Currently, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends Gardasil vaccinations for girls and women between the ages of 11 and 26. Gardasil had sales of more than $1 billion last year.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_13"></span>And while doctors are free to use the vaccine in boys and men ages 9 through 26, U.S. health officials so far have declined to recommend routine vaccination for males.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_14"></span>"This study highlights the high incidence of HPV infection in men, which emphasizes their role in transmission of HPV to women," Dr. Anne Szarewski of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London said in a statement.<br />
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"It must surely strengthen the argument for vaccination of men, both for their own protection, and that of their partners."<br />
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<span id="midArticle_0"></span>In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Merck's Gardasil HPV vaccine for prevention of anal cancers in both men and women, based on studies showing Gardasil was effective in men who have sex with men, a group that has a higher incidence of anal cancer.<br />
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<span id="midArticle_1"></span>Anal cancer is one of the less common types of cancer, with an estimated 5,300 new U.S. cases diagnosed each year, but the incidence is increasingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-61339441683939040372011-03-01T06:07:00.000-08:002011-03-01T06:13:43.420-08:00FDA Approves First 3-D Mammography Device<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cancerquest.org/images/Mammography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="http://www.cancerquest.org/images/Mammography.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>(<a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/">http://www.nationalpartnership.org/</a>) <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February 14, 2011 — FDA on Friday announced its approval of the Selenia Dimensions System, the first three-dimensional X-ray mammography device for breast cancer screening, which regulators say may reduce the number of women who need second-round testing for issues that often are non-cancerous, the </span><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/11/nation/la-naw-fda-breast-cancer-20110212" target="_new"><cite><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Los Angeles Times</span></strong></cite></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> reports (Zajac, <cite>Los Angeles Times</cite>, 2/11).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The device manufacturer, </span><a href="http://www.hologic.com/en/" target="_new"><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hologic</span></strong></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, had to push back its U.S. launch of the device in 2009 after FDA officials said they were not prepared to approve it. The move allowed Hologic to conduct additional clinical trials (Weisman, </span><a href="http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2011/02/12/hologic_wins_ok_for_3_d_mammography_system/" target="_new"><cite><strong><span style="background-color: #990000; color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Boston Globe</span></strong></cite></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #990000; color: white;">,</span> 2/12). In two studies that asked radiologists to review 2-D and 3-D images from more than 300 mammography exams, the radiologists had a 7% improvement in distinguishing cancerous from non-cancerous abnormalities when viewing both exams, compared with viewing the 2-D images alone, according to an FDA </span><a href="http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm243072.htm" target="_new"><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">statement</span></strong></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (<cite>Los Angeles Times</cite>, 2/11). Currently, about 10% of women who receive a mammogram are called back for additional testing due to cells that appear to be cancerous but ultimately are benign. If both tests are used, that rate would fall slightly to 9.3% (Kotz, "</span><a href="http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/blog/dailydose/2011/02/new_3-d_mammogr.html" target="_new"><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Daily Dose</span></strong></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">," <cite>Boston Globe</cite>, 2/11).<br />
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The new technology, called digital tomosynthesis, allows radiologists to see through overlapping tissue, a common problem with 2-D technology (Weisman, <cite>Boston Globe</cite>, 2/12). FDA expressed concern over increased radiation exposure among women who undergo both 2-D and 3-D screening, saying the two tests used together "approximately doubled the radiation dose the patient received" and "there is uncertainty for radiation risk estimates" ("Daily Dose," <cite>Boston Globe</cite>, 2/11). Several hundred medical centers have a Hologic 2-D system that can be upgraded to 3-D through the purchase of software costing $150,000 (McCullough, </span><a href="http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-12/news/28530785_1_breast-cancer-noncancerous-images" target="_new"><cite><strong><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Philadelphia Inquirer</span></strong></cite></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, 2/12). Hologic said the cost of the test and whether insurance will cover it is unknown ("Daily Dose," <cite>Boston Globe</cite>, 2/11).</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-79029688266017121342011-02-26T00:57:00.000-08:002011-02-26T01:07:07.510-08:00Stress does not affect the success of fertility treatments(<a href="http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=411866">OzarksFIRST.com</a>) -- Emotional distress doesn't reduce a woman's chance of getting pregnant via in vitro fertilization or other reproduction treatments.<br />
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That's the conclusion from British researchers who analyzed data from more than 3500+ women undergoing in vitro or other fertility treatment programs.<br />
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Lead researcher Jacky Boivin says the findings seem to shatter the myth that stress impedes pregnancy success from IVF or other techniques.<br />
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Boivin says the findings, quote, "should reassure women that emotional distress caused by fertility problems or other life events co-occurring with treatment will not compromise their chance of becoming pregnant." Doctors say infertility affects between nine and 15-percent of the childbearing population.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kumc.edu/stemcell/images/ivf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" l6="true" src="http://www.kumc.edu/stemcell/images/ivf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h2> </h2><h2>Research Abstract</h2><div id="p-2"><strong>Objective</strong> To examine whether pretreatment emotional distress in women is associated with achievement of pregnancy after a cycle of assisted reproductive technology. </div><div id="p-3"><br />
</div><strong>Design</strong> Meta-analysis of prospective psychosocial studies. <br />
<div id="p-4"><br />
</div><strong>Data sources</strong> PubMed, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, PsychNET, ISI Web of Knowledge, and ISI Web of Science were searched for articles published from 1985 to March 2010 (inclusive). We also undertook a hand search of reference lists and contacted 29 authors. Eligible studies were prospective studies reporting a test of the association between pretreatment emotional distress (anxiety or depression) and pregnancy in women undergoing a single cycle of assisted reproductive technology. <br />
<div id="p-5"><br />
</div><strong>Review methods</strong> Two authors independently assessed the studies for eligibility and quality (using criteria adapted from the Newcastle-Ottawa quality scale) and extracted data. Authors contributed additional data not included in original publication. <br />
<div id="p-6"><br />
</div><strong>Results</strong> Fourteen studies with 3583 infertile women undergoing a cycle of fertility treatment were included in the meta-analysis. The effect size used was the standardised mean difference (adjusted for small sample size) in pretreatment anxiety or depression (priority on anxiety where both measured) between women who achieved a pregnancy (defined as a positive pregnancy test, positive fetal heart scan, or live birth) and those who did not. Pretreatment emotional distress was not associated with treatment outcome after a cycle of assisted reproductive technology (standardised mean difference −0.04, 95% confidence interval −0.11 to 0.03 (fixed effects model); heterogeneity I²=14%, P=0.30). Subgroup analyses according to previous experience of assisted reproductive technology, composition of the not pregnant group, and timing of the emotional assessment were not significant. The effect size did not vary according to study quality, but a significant subgroup analysis on timing of the pregnancy test, a contour enhanced funnel plot, and Egger’s test indicated the presence of moderate publication bias. <br />
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</div><strong>Conclusions</strong> The findings of this meta-analysis should reassure women and doctors that emotional distress caused by fertility problems or other life events co-occurring with treatment will not compromise the chance of becoming pregnant.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d223.full">Click here to view full report from the British Medical Journal</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-16051913877317054252011-02-23T12:47:00.000-08:002011-02-26T01:08:51.155-08:00Mitchelle Obama advocates breastfeeding to fight obesity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.babycentre.co.uk/i/breastfeed/2-across-lap-opp-arm-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="190" j6="true" src="http://www.babycentre.co.uk/i/breastfeed/2-across-lap-opp-arm-final.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white;">(</span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/attachment-parenting-in-erie/michelle-obama-promotes-breastfeeding-among-black-communities"><span style="color: white;">examiner.com</span></a><span style="color: white;">) At the recent Congressional Black Caucus on September 16th, 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama explained childhood obesity had become a national epidemic and was particularly bad in black communities.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;">One thing that Mrs. Obama promoted was early obesity prevention through breastfeeding, especially in the black community where 40 percent of babies never get breast-fed at all, even in the first weeks of life, and babies that are breast-fed are less likely to be obese as children.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;">The fact is, black moms still have the lowest breastfeeding rates of all ethnicities. And when it comes to the gold standard of infant nutrition -- six months of exclusive breastfeeding -- the rate among African-Americans is only 20% compared to 40% among whites</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: white;">Excerpts from </span><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/09/michelle-obama-obesity-black-caucus.html"><span style="color: white;">remarks by Michelle Obama to the Congressional Black Caucus Conference, as provided by the White House</span></a></span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: white;">One of the reasons why I wanted to be here today, because I want to talk with you about another issue that I believe presents an urgent threat to the health and well-being of our young people -- and that is the epidemic of childhood obesity that affects every community in this country –- but it affects the African American community in particular. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">You just heard the statistics. They’re all too familiar: how nearly 40 percent of African American kids are overweight or obese. Nearly one in two –- that is half of our children –- will develop diabetes in some point in their lives. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">But I also know how easy it is to rattle off those numbers, and to shake our heads, and move on, because in the black community especially, these persistent health problems can become so routine that we come to expect it, sometimes even tolerate it. </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And it’s a lot harder to really feel what those statistics mean, because the truth is that in too many of our communities, childhood obesity has become that kind of slow, quiet, everyday threat that doesn’t always appear to warrant the headline urgency of some of the other issues that we face.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">The fact is that many of us, and many of the folks that we know and love, have struggled with our weight. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And often, it becomes the kind of thing that we just sort of accept as part of our daily lives, as something we know we should do something about, but we always push it off until later. It winds up taking a backburner to more pressing issues like crumbling schools, and neighborhoods that aren’t safe, and families that can’t pay the bills or even put food on the table. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.healthhabits.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/fat_baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="216" j6="true" src="http://www.healthhabits.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/fat_baby.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: white;">But today, I just want us to step back for a moment and ask ourselves some hard questions about what childhood obesity really means for the prospects of our next generation. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">We should ask ourselves what does it mean when we hear stories of doctors seeing obesity-related conditions like type II diabetes in children that they only used to see in adults?</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">And what does it mean when our kids go through life feeling unwell, not having the energy to run around and play and enjoy their childhood today, and not having the stamina and the strength they will need to build successful careers and keep up with their own kids and grandkids in the future?</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And what does it mean when study after study shows that regular exercise and proper nutrition significantly improves academic performance, but that many of our kids aren’t getting enough of either?</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">What does it mean when, because so many of our kids are struggling with obesity, some experts are now saying that our kids might be the first generation in history on track to lead shorter lives than their parents? </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">I mean, we’ve got to think about that. I mean, think about the fact that we may have reached a point where a future generation will be worse, and not better, than the one before.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">See, I think it means we’ve got a pretty big problem on our hands, and one that we should be taking just as seriously as all those other hot button, front-burner issues we’ve all been fighting so hard to address. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">I think it means that we as a community, and as a nation, need to make solving childhood obesity a top priority for our kids’ future. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">I think we need to make a commitment –- not just for a few months, or a few years, but a long-term commitment to do what it takes to solve this problem once and for all, because the truth is that short-term, one-off efforts simply aren’t going to cut it. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Childhood obesity isn’t some simple, discrete issue. There’s no one cause we can pinpoint. There’s no one program we can fund to make it go away. Rather, it’s an issue that touches on every aspect of how we live and how we work. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And we can’t just declare that our kids need to get more exercise when they don’t have parks to play in or safe streets to walk on.(Applause.) </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">We can’t just tell folks to put more fruits and vegetables on the dinner table when many a family lives miles from the nearest grocery store. (Applause.) </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And we certainly can’t demand healthier school lunches when our schools don’t have the money, the equipment or the expertise to make that happen. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And because it’s important to prevent obesity early, we’re also working to promote breastfeeding, especially in the black community -- (applause) -- where 40 percent of our babies never get breast-fed at all, even in the first weeks of life, and we know that babies that are breast-fed are less likely to be obese as children.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">So I’m not just here today to talk to you about the problem. I am also here to enlist each and every one of you in our fight to find a solution.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And together, you can do something as simple as hosting a farmers market in your community, or cleaning up a park so that kids have a safe place to play. Or you can do something as involved as working to redesign your entire city or overhaul your school’s lunch program.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And today, I’m proud that the Department of Health and Human Services has announced that they will be investing $31 million in new grants. These grants are called -- (applause) -- they’re calling these grants Communities Putting Prevention to Work. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And these grants, made possible through the health care reform law, will go to 11 communities and states across the country. They will help support innovative programs designed to fight childhood obesity and make our communities healthier. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">This bill has already passed the Senate, and I hope that the House of Representatives will act by the end of this month so we can get this bill signed into law. That’s something we can do.(Applause.) </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">But in the end, we all know that our childhood obesity crisis will not be solved by a bill in Washington, or even by the best programs in our communities, because, ultimately, the most important decisions about what our kids eat, and how much they exercise, are made at home. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.parentdish.com/media/2010/05/michelle-obama-summer-425ce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="203" j6="true" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.parentdish.com/media/2010/05/michelle-obama-summer-425ce.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">The reality is that we all need to start making some changes to how our families eat. Now, everyone loves a good Sunday dinner. (Laughter.) Me included. (Laughter.) And there’s nothing wrong with that. The problem is when we eat Sunday dinner Monday through Saturday. (Laughter.) The problem is when things get out of balance, when portion sizes get out of control, when dessert is practically a food group -- (laughter) -- or kids are drinking sodas with every meal, or having snacks every couple of hours. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">So this doesn’t mean going cold turkey and saying goodbye to the foods we love and that mean so much to our families. Instead, it’s about common sense and moderation. It means thinking hard about the foods we buy and how we prepare them and how much of them we eat. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">It means getting our kids screened for obesity and asking our doctors for advice on how to prevent and address the issue. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">It means making a conscious decision to incorporate physical activity into our daily lives. That could mean taking longer walks, spending more time as a family in the park. Maybe it’s just turning on the radio and dancing in the middle of the living room until you break a sweat. (Laughter.) Doesn’t have to take that much. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">And the beauty of this issue is that this is with our control. We can do this if we all work together. If we continue to work together as we’ve done, then I am confident that together we can give our children the bright future that they deserve.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Thank you all for giving me the time. (Applause.) Thank you all for your prayers, for your hard work, for your intelligence. And I look forward to working with every single one of you in the months and years to come. Thank you all so much. (Applause.)</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-465394384959424352011-02-19T15:14:00.000-08:002011-02-26T01:09:41.926-08:00Intravaginal Practices Are Associated With Acquiring HIV Infection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://topnews.in/health/files/NGO-Condemns-Discriminatory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" j6="true" src="http://topnews.in/health/files/NGO-Condemns-Discriminatory.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div id="first" style="padding-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="date"><em>ScienceDaily (Feb. 15, 2011)</em></span> — Although there is no evidence to suggest a direct causal pathway, some intravaginal practices used by women in sub-Saharan Africa (such as washing the vagina with soap) may increase the acquisition of HIV infection and so should be avoided. Encouraging women to use less harmful intravaginal practices (for example, washing with water alone) should therefore be included in female-initiated HIV prevention research strategies in sub-Saharan Africa.</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are the key findings from a study by Nicola Low, from the University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, and colleagues and published in this week's <em>PLoS Medicine</em>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="padding-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The authors pooled individual participant data from 13 prospective cohort studies in sub-Saharan Africa involving nearly 15,000 women, 791 of whom acquired HIV, and found that HIV infection within two years of enrolment in the studies was associated with self-reported intravaginal practices. After controlling for age, marital status, and the number of recent sex partners, women who used cloth or paper to clean their vagina were nearly one and half times more likely to have acquired HIV infection as women who did not use this practice.</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Furthermore, the insertion of products to dry or tighten the vagina and intravaginal cleaning with soap also increased women's chances of acquiring HIV. Intravaginal cleaning with soap was associated with the development of bacterial vaginosis, and disrupted vaginal flora -- two conditions associated with an increased risk of HIV acquisition.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.truelegends.com/images/bab14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" j6="true" src="http://www.truelegends.com/images/bab14.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><div style="padding-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These findings add to the results of a recent systematic review, published in PLoS ONE, which suggested that a pathway linking intravaginal cleaning practices with vaginal infections that increase susceptibility to HIV infection is plausible, but conclusive evidence is lacking.</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The authors of the <em>PLoS Medicine</em> study say: "New female-initiated interventions also need to be developed despite the challenges involved in measuring the impact on preventing HIV acquisition. Behavioural interventions that have been successful in helping young US women to stop vaginal douching might be adapted for women in sub-Saharan Africa to encourage less harmful practices."</span></div><div style="padding-bottom: 10px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Funding was received from the Office of AIDS Research, US National Institutes of Health.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110215191619.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110215191619.htm</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-74742204579523274882011-02-07T03:32:00.000-08:002011-02-26T01:10:17.634-08:00"Marching towards Freedom"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://plastoline.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Water_carrierBEST.49135037_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://plastoline.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Water_carrierBEST.49135037_std.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For half of her life Jaanki, a 70-year-old widow in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, has eked out a living cleaning latrines and carrying human excreta on her head, sometimes for as long as an hour, to the nearest drain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Manual scavenging is the only way of life for her and the other female "Bhangis," a sub-caste of Dalits, who occupy the lowest tier in this nation's caste hierarchy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">India is home to about 300,000 manual scavengers, 85 percent of whom are women, according to estimates by the Safai Karamchari Andolan, a New Delhi-based group that monitors the outlawed practice. Any person who breaks the law by employing a manual scavenger faces punishment of up to year in prison, but the film shows the large extent to which the law is ignored.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For this nauseating work--banned by law in 1993--the workers get paid by each client household 30 rupees (less than $1 U.S.) per month...</div><br />
<a href="http://womensenews.org/story/labor/110204/indias-shunned-latrine-cleaners-toil-despite-ban">http://womensenews.org/story/labor/110204/indias-shunned-latrine-cleaners-toil-despite-ban</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-33852181827308612422011-02-02T12:37:00.000-08:002011-02-26T01:16:19.950-08:00Despite Myth, Anorexics Do Become Pregnant | Womens eNews<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="byLine" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://womensenews.org/story/reproductive-health/110128/despite-myth-anorexics-do-become-pregnant">http://womensenews.org/story/reproductive-health/110128/despite-myth-anorexics-do-become-pregnant</a></div><div class="byLine" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="byLine" style="text-align: justify;">By Kristi Eaton</div><div class="byLine" style="text-align: justify;">WeNews correspondent</div><div class="date" style="text-align: justify;">Tuesday, February 1, 2011</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em> When women suffering anorexia stop having their menstrual periods many think they no longer have to worry about birth control. But the recent discovery of a higher rate of unplanned pregnancies among women with the disorder turns that thinking on its head.</em></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">(WOMENSENEWS)--As a child with anorexia, I was too young to worry about losing my period.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> But many of the older girls and women in my treatment center believed the loss of a regular period was a perk to the potentially deadly illness. With the loss of the menstrual period, called amenorrhea, there was less hassle to deal with each month and less worry about getting pregnant. Many of the women, in fact, believed they could not have children even if they tried, thinking the anorexia had made them infertile.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> A study late last year from a leading eating disorders researcher shows the repercussions of such misperceptions for women with anorexia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Published in the November 2010 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the study indicated that women with anorexia are more likely to have unplanned pregnancies and induced abortions compared to women who don't have the disorder.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Many women falsely assume that if they are not menstruating or if they are menstruating irregularly that they are unable to conceive, said Cynthia M. Bulik, the study's lead author and director of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Eating Disorders Program.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/nRESIbTOPLc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> "There are also a lot of myths out there that people with anorexia nervosa are infertile. This is not the case," she said. "Of course anorexia nervosa does lead to infertility in some cases, but many women continue to ovulate even in the absence of menstruation."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Characterized by extreme weight loss because of excessive dieting or exercise, a distorted body image and an intense fear of gaining weight, anorexia affects as many as 10 million women and 1 million men in the United States, according to the Seattle-based National Eating Disorders Association.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>High Premature Fatality Rate</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Anorexia has the highest premature fatality rate of any mental illness. Some studies indicate that people with the disorder are up to 10 times more likely to die prematurely than those without the disorder. The illness is also on the rise among children.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> For the study, Bulik and her team looked at data gathered from 62,060 women as part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Of the women surveyed, 62 reported having anorexia nervosa.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The researchers found vast differences between the two groups. Those with anorexia were, on average, 26.2 when they delivered for the first time, compared to an average age of 29.9 in the group without the eating disorder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Of the women with anorexia, 50 percent reported having an unplanned pregnancy, while only about 19 percent of those without the disorder did. Furthermore, almost a quarter of those with anorexia reported having induced abortions in the past. Less than 15 percent of women without the disease reported the same thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Kate, a 27-year-old New Yorker who developed anorexia while in college, has had amenorrhea for about three years. She said she doesn't mind having the menstrual disorder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> "But my doctor put me on estrogen pills to give myself a period because my levels are so low. I just started taking them, so we will see," said Kate, who asked that her last name not be used because she is in the fitness industry and must maintain a positive image.</div><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style" style="text-align: justify;"><a at_titled="1" class="addthis_button_expanded at300m" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=ariel09" ost="1" title="View more services">More</a> </div><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Self-Esteem a Factor</strong></div><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Kate said she thinks anorexic women may have a higher percentage of unwanted pregnancies because of the lack of self-esteem that is common among women with the eating disorder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> "As an anorexic, you could put yourself out there more and get pregnant without planning, as self-respect is often low in women with the disease," she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Harry Brandt, director of The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Baltimore, said a number of pregnant women suffering from anorexia are on the unit. He hasn't surveyed patients on their attitudes about birth control, but said, "It wouldn't surprise me if people who don't menstruate think they won't get pregnant; both anorexics and the general population."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> These women may think they don't need birth control when they actually can become pregnant, he said. Brandt added that a pregnancy for an anorexic woman could be dangerous for both her and the fetus.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> "There are problems when an individual with low weight and anorexia does get pregnant because if they continue a pattern of poor nutrition and restrict their intake, they are not eating to support their own bodily function and the developing fetus," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Would you like to Send Along a Link of This Story?<br />
<a href="http://www.womensenews.org/story/reproductive-health/110128/despite-myth-anorexics-do-become-pregnant">http://www.womensenews.org/story/reproductive-health/110128/despite-myth-anorexics-do-become-pregnant</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Kristi Eaton is a freelance journalist based in Tulsa, Okla., whose work has appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Arizona Republic, Ms. Magazine and others. You can visit her Web site at kristieaton.com or follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/kristieaton.</i></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-421573345339861322010-11-27T06:13:00.000-08:002011-02-26T01:10:52.807-08:00The Dynamics of Social Change: Towards the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Five African Countries<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">New report offers breakthrough to ending female genital mutilation</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">FLORENCE, Italy 18 November 2010 – A new report provides evidence on how communities across Africa are ending female genital mutilation/cutting FGM/C), despite strong countervailing social pressures.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Dynamics of Social Change: Towards the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Five African Countries – from UNICEF‟s Innocenti Research Centre – provides solutions and examples of communities ending the practice. The report examines what conditions are necessary for a consensus to abandon FGM/C and identifies strategies for sustainable abandonment.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The report is also a reminder that changing behavioural practices (social norms) - which may have endured for centuries - is a complex process that takes time. The Dynamics of Social Change finds that the most effective abandonment initiatives frame the discussion surrounding FGM/C in a non-threatening way; reinforce the positive aspects of local culture; and build community trust by implementing development projects that address local needs. This demonstrates that new ideas come with good intentions and with the goal of improving their lives. Successful abandonment programmes involve respected community members, including religious and local leaders, and engage social networks and institutions. They use legislative </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">reform, national policies and the media to enable and support the process.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“A family's decision to practice or abandon FGM/C is influenced by powerful social rewards and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sanctions,” said Gordon Alexander, Director a.i. of the Innocenti Research Centre. “Understanding </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the diverse social dynamics that perpetuate FGM/C is changing the way in which abandonment is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">approached. There is no one answer, no one way, and no quick fix. But there is progress. These </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">efforts need to be scaled up to bring change in the lives of girls, now.”</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Innocenti Research Centre report (with data at the foot of this PR) examines a number of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">promising strategies that are supporting communities in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sudan to abandon FGM/C.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Millions of girls worldwide are cut or mutilated each year. The practice, a serious violation of their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">human rights, can cause severe, lifelong health problems including bleeding, problems urinating, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">childbirth complications and newborn deaths.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And yet, in communities where it is practised, FGM/C is not viewed as a harmful act but as a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">necessary step to raise a girl and, in many cases, to make her eligible for marriage. Failure to carry out or undergo FGM/C can lead to social exclusion and disapproval not only of the girl but of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the entire family.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Religion, tradition and culture are also often cited by families as reasons for cutting their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">daughters. Many communities, for example, believe that FGM/C is mandated by religious </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">doctrine, despite the fact that no major religion requires it. The report reveals that one of the key </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">factors that motivate parents‟ decision to have their girls cut – „to do what is best for their</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">daughters‟ – may also spur a decision to stop the practice, once social norms evolve and social </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">expectations change.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The report is an important contribution to our collective understanding of how widespread and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sustainable change can be made in communities,” said Mr. Alexander. “It also has enormous </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">implications for how we address both FGM/C and other harmful practices and forms of violence </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">against girls and women, such as forced and child marriage that are influenced by similar social </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dynamics.”</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite the progress that has been made in intervention communities – particularly in Senegal – </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">national FGM/C prevalence rates still remain high in Egypt, Ethiopia and the Sudan. There has, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">however, been a significant change in attitudes about FGM/C in all three countries, indicating that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">individuals are questioning the merits of these practices and would prefer, circumstances</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">permitting, not to have their daughters, wives, sisters and cousins undergo FGM/C.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Estimates on how many girls and women worldwide have been cut vary from 70 million to 140 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">million. In Africa, an estimated three million girls and women are at risk for FGM/C each year. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The practice is also found in some countries Asia and the Middle East, and to a lesser extent </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">within some immigrant communities in Europe, and in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">United States of America.</span><br />
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See more @<br />
www.unicef-irc.org<br />
twitter.com/UNICEFInnocenti <br />
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdeI5JkbEo<br />
For full report: <a href="http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/fgm_insight_eng.pdf">http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/fgm_insight_eng.pdf</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-86056468166010605882010-11-23T03:58:00.000-08:002011-02-26T01:11:26.014-08:00FORCED SEXUAL RELATIONS among married young women in developing countries<div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">A report by the Population Council (<a href="http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/popsyn/PopulationSynthesis1.pdf">http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/popsyn/PopulationSynthesis1.pdf</a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">)</span></span></em></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4cc0ortTIZZHknHl1b2soCm-bIgF23NjWBLGQrFKjK1YVzhFXs6pUGv5jMX6QVAdHuRgnWsilgCLhwftPAFr4mMXjOCr7GVoFhYnKrSQrtFiCdNK2tE15-Ayl7zCaS09rxpcExz4wEB3/s400/Khamisa-Mohammed-Sawadi-1-2%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4cc0ortTIZZHknHl1b2soCm-bIgF23NjWBLGQrFKjK1YVzhFXs6pUGv5jMX6QVAdHuRgnWsilgCLhwftPAFr4mMXjOCr7GVoFhYnKrSQrtFiCdNK2tE15-Ayl7zCaS09rxpcExz4wEB3/s320/Khamisa-Mohammed-Sawadi-1-2%5B1%5D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Recent research in developing countries suggests that a considerable number of young women may experience forced sex within marriage, but most women may be inhibited from reporting these experiences due to shame fear of reprisal or deep-rooted unequal gender norms. The consequences of domestic violence can be severe, and in fact, intimate partner violence is one of the leading causes of death among women 15-44 years of age.</span><br />
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Papers highlighting the nature and prevalence of coercion among married young women were presented at a global consultative meeting in New Delhi. Evidence comes from small-scale studies and large population-based surveys, such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), from some developing countries. Many women may underreport coercion by a partner within marriage, and there are variations in the framing of questions posed, methods of data collection and the reference period, making findings of small-scale studies difficult to compare. However, available data give an idea of the extent and nature of coercion that married young women experience. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Studies reveal that sexual coercion within marriage includes deception, verbal threats or psychological intimidation to obtain sex, attempted rape and forced penetrative sex. Forced marital sex can be accompanied by physical or emotional violence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sexual coercion is observed in marital partnerships in diverse settings such as South Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Although cultural settings and contexts condition the nature of coercion among married young women, there are striking similarities across different settings.</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Experiences of forced sex within marriage</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fhi.org/NR/rdonlyres/e2fzmlpkocp6necnje6h6g3pj4tilwhgcqqa2vnn32hhmhitovju3gdyyqgrhtugrgsjixuw2asyab/nconsmar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" ox="true" src="http://www.fhi.org/NR/rdonlyres/e2fzmlpkocp6necnje6h6g3pj4tilwhgcqqa2vnn32hhmhitovju3gdyyqgrhtugrgsjixuw2asyab/nconsmar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em>Forced marital sex is reported in a variety of socio-cultural contexts</em>.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The paucity of nationally representative data makes it difficult to establish the prevalence of non-consensual sex among married young women in developing countries. What is clear however from papers presented at the New Delhi meeting is that early forced sex is reported by married young women living in diverse contexts. Where arranged marriage is the norm, few women exercise choice in whom they will marry; forced sex is also experienced in settings in which partner choice among young women is more prevalent. Indeed, evidence from the DHS and other surveys suggests that between 3 and 23 per cent of married young women (aged 15-24) in developing countries such as Cambodia, Colombia, Haiti, India, Nepal, Nicaragua and Zambia have ever experienced non-consensual sex by a current or former spouse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Women in diverse settings reported, moreover, that they had experienced recent episodes of forced sex, that is, within the 12 months preceding the survey. In studies in Latin America and the Caribbean, between 3 per cent and 23 per cent of women who had ever experienced coerced sex in marriage had such an encounter in the last 12 months. A similar prevalence (1-23 per cent) was noted in Brazil, Japan, Namibia, Peru and Thailand in the World Health Organization multi-country study of violence against women.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Few studies have explored the perspectives of husbands. Exceptions include studies of married men in India that also reflect the extent of partner violence in marriage and highlight the fact that younger men are more likely than older men to perpetrate such incidents. In Uttar Pradesh, India for example, one-third of men aged 30 or less and one-fourth of older men reported ever perpetrating non-consensual sex (with or without physical force) on their wives. Another study in Uttar Pradesh similarly reports that young men (those married less than 10 years) are significantly more likely to have recently perpetrated sexual violence on their wives than those married longer. Men also reported perpetrating current episodes of sexual violence on their wives. In three states in India (Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu), about two-third of men aged 15-24 and 43 per cent of men aged 36-50 had perpetrated violence on their wives in the 12 months preceding the investigation.</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Forced sex is initiated early and is not an isolated incident.</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Several presentations made at the New Delhi meeting reiterated that there is little variation in the lifetime experience of non-consensual marital sex reported by young women (aged 15-24) and older women (aged 30-39). Given the significantly shorter exposure period of young women, this finding underscores the fact that forced sex is initiated early in the marriages of young women. National-level data in Latin America and the Caribbean, where partner choice is more prevalent than in South Asia, for example, suggest that coercion is initiated early, often within the first two years of marriage. In Nicaragua, half of partner violence among adolescent married women (15-19 years) started within two years of marriage.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In studies in South Asia, a region known for early and arranged marriages in which decision-making tends to exclude the young woman, early marital experiences and notably sexual initiation are also reported to be forced for many. Qualitative studies from Bangladesh, various parts of India and Nepal highlight the vulnerability of newly married adolescent girls who undergo arranged marriage, and are neither familiar with their husbands nor informed about sexual matters. In-depth interviews with women married in adolescence reiterate the point that early marital relations were coerced, traumatic and painful. Testimonies from young women in South Asia reflect their fear and helplessness during such incidents. In one study in Gujarat, India, a woman said: “my husband insisted on doing it every day…I would cry and tell him it was painful…still he would continue”. In another study in Uttar Pradesh, women reported similar experiences of their wedding night. For example, one woman said: “It was a terrifying experience; when I tried to resist he pinned my arms above my head”. Another, married at 13 years, says: “Nobody would call this a normal sexual encounter. It can only correctly be labelled as ‘rape’ by her own man”. A third asks: “How can a child of twelve and a half enjoy that?” In Mumbai, a woman recalled: “When he did it for the first time, it was painful. I cried for days” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sexual coercion is not limited to single isolated episodes. Studies in at least two settings (Haiti andNicaragua) report that most young women who had experienced sexual coercion in the preceding 12months had suffered three or more incidents during the period.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Gender power imbalances and sexual violence</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fhi.org/NR/rdonlyres/eb2vgkdqcq5rr7stf3zo4juuivfiff2gee3vbxxz633zqene4wqcttdwsmcp6iyktqw2okkj3ng7sf/violence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" ox="true" src="http://www.fhi.org/NR/rdonlyres/eb2vgkdqcq5rr7stf3zo4juuivfiff2gee3vbxxz633zqene4wqcttdwsmcp6iyktqw2okkj3ng7sf/violence.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Young women’s lack of autonomy</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">While unequal power relations and lack of autonomy characterize the situation of married women in many settings, the autonomy of married young women is particularly constrained. In many countries in South Asia and the Middle East, early and arranged marriages are the norm and in most cases, the young woman scarcely knows her husband and is not involved in marriage-related decision-making. A young woman’s powerlessness and inability to exercise sexual choices in her marital home exacerbate the non-consensual nature of early sex, particularly forced sexual initiation. Lack of information on sexual matters at marriage compounds the anxiety and fear that characterizes young women’s early marital experiences, particularly as young husbands are better informed and in many cases, sexually experienced before marriage. In contrast, studies in several settings imply that marriage in adulthood enables women to enter marriage on more equal terms than marriage in adolescence. For example, studies in India reveal that women who married in adulthood were more likely to report that marital sexual experiences were “positive” compared to those married in adolescence. In Bangladesh, women married at 20 or later were more likely to have negotiated first sex than those who married in adolescence.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Even in other settings not as prominently characterized by early and arranged marriage, women who married young were more vulnerable to early coercive sex. Findings from Latin America suggest that married young women had little autonomy and choice, and were at far greater risk of both physical and sexual violence from their partners compared to women who married later. Younger women were also more likely to have suffered current and more severe episodes of violence, experienced violence in pregnancy and suffered injuries and other negative health outcomes. Qualitative studies reinforce this finding. For example, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a woman married in adolescence said: “I screamed. He said, ‘You have to do it.’ It was a sad bloodbath, the next day I couldn’t even walk.”</span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Male entitlement to force sex</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In many developing countries women “believe” that the use of force is a man’s “right” and submission is the only way to avoid pain and ensure security in the marital home. Young women from various settings in South Asia said or were told: “I had feelings of discomfort but I had to accept my husband’s wishes.” “If you won’t give him then he will force you and you would have pain”. In Zimbabwe women were told that the use of force by a husband is “a part of life”. In Nicaragua and Haiti, it was believed that women did not have the right to refuse sex if they did not feel like it, and that in some circumstances men were justified in beating their wives.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Gender norms stress male entitlement to sex, even if forced within marriage. In Nepal, 11 per cent of younger men (below age 30) and 8 per cent of men aged 30-39 years justified wife-beating for refusing sex. Men use threats of abandonment, seeking sexual gratification elsewhere, remarriage and quarrel to force sex upon wives early in marriage. Few husbands respect their wives attempts to refuse their sexual advances. A young woman from Bangladesh said: “My husband used to get angry…and told me that he would remarry if I refused to have sex with him.”</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Emerging evidence of changing attitudes, greater autonomy</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://neilljongman.co.uk/Slides/files/ChangingAttitudes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" ox="true" src="http://neilljongman.co.uk/Slides/files/ChangingAttitudes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">While prevailing norms in many developing societies support male dominance in marital partnerships, there is evidence to suggest that women’s perceptions and attitudes to their partners may be changing. In Latin America, while men feel a sense of entitlement to force sex, and young women feel a sense of powerlessness to negotiate sexual relations, cultural norms may be changing making it more acceptable for younger women to leave violent relationships. In Nicaragua, for instance, while older women continue to stay longer in violent relationships, younger women (15-24 years) are developing a greater sense of autonomy and are more likely to seek help early.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In South Asia, where marriages are early and arranged, young women and men are recognizing the need for autonomy. In Nepal, both females and males overwhelmingly support women’s right to refuse sex. Large proportions of male and female college students in India argue that women must make reproductive decisions and that a man cannot force his wife to engage in unwanted sexual relation In some settings, younger women are playing a more active role in choosing their husbands and making marriage-related decisions, which may allow women to exercise sexual choice and rights.<br />
<br />
Evidence suggests that as marital partnerships become more established, even in settings characterized by limited autonomy, women do indeed develop strategies to counter sexual violence. Evidence from South Asia suggests for example that sexual experiences later in marriage are varied. For many, passive acceptance tends to replace the trauma that accompanies early coerced sexual relations with their husbands due to the lack of options or as a strategy for survival. Other women have, however, developed strategies to avoid unwanted sex: they threaten to scream, endangering the husband’s prestige, they threaten suicide, they wake young children or feign menstruation. In some cases, women have forged greater intimacy in their relationships with the husband and this has resulted in more sexually equitable and pleasurable relationships and the ability to communicate on sexual matters.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Summing up</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hitech-projects.com/euprojects/ardor/images/summary-picture-1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" ox="true" src="http://www.hitech-projects.com/euprojects/ardor/images/summary-picture-1.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">While there is heterogeneity between different cultural contexts, several similarities characterize the early marital sexual experiences of young women.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• In every setting in which data are available, a considerable number of married young women experience coercive sex within marriage.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• In most settings sexual coercion is initiated early in marriage, and in settings characterized by early and arranged marriage, specifically at sexual initiation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Women who marry in adolescence are more likely than others to experience more episodes of violence compared to women who marry later.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Irrespective of setting, gender power imbalances tend to underlie the persistence of forced marital sex among young women. Powerlessness and the inability to negotiate wanted outcomes characterize married young women’s narratives in Latin America just as they characterize the narratives of married young women in South Asia who exercise far less choice in early and arranged marriages, and who may be particularly unable to negotiate wanted early or first sex. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• While in most settings, gender norms emphasize women’s submissiveness and male entitlement to force sex, there is emerging evidence of changing attitudes and greater autonomy among young women. For example, some young women in Latin America are leaving abusive relationships; and in South Asia some young women express awareness of their sexual rights and choices, and display attitudes opposing forced marital sex. As marital partnerships mature, moreover, several women who experienced sexual violence in early marital relations in South Asia report strategies that enable them to resist forced sexual relations or forge more equitable partnerships.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Recommendations for action</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thebull.com.au/admin/uploads/news/3886_nota_broker_recommendations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" ox="true" src="http://www.thebull.com.au/admin/uploads/news/3886_nota_broker_recommendations.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Papers and deliberations at the New Delhi meeting suggested several recommendations for action to address factors that heighten young women’s vulnerability to coercive sexual relationships within marriage. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Prepare young women who are about to be married by providing them with information on sexual matters, and ensuring that they have the ability to communicate on sexual matters with the family and future partners, and the skills to negotiate wanted sexual outcomes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Provide young women and men who are about to be married sexuality and life skills education to address gender stereotypes and attitudes that reinforce male entitlement and women’s submissiveness to forced sex within marriage.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Sensitize parents to the need to provide their daughters with a supportive environment.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Advocate delayed marriage among adult gate-keepers and enable young brides-to-be to play a more active role in decisions concerning their<br />
marriage. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Provide married women who suffer forced sexual relations access to legal structures that are sensitive to their needs and vulnerabilities. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Given the paucity of data on the subject, research is needed on the prevalence, forms and context of sexual coercion among married young women in different settings. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">• Involve men in positive ways to change gender norms that lead to violence and to establish partnerships that are based on mutual understanding and a respect for each other’s rights.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.svconference2008.org/images/partners/pop_council.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://www.svconference2008.org/images/partners/pop_council.jpg" /></a></div><span style="background-color: #20124d; color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-9564903919428211382010-11-14T14:45:00.000-08:002011-02-26T01:12:08.977-08:00GPI at the World Youth Conference, Mexico 2010 <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/uploads/6/WYClogo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" px="true" src="http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/uploads/6/WYClogo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the 208 NGO representatives from 153 countries which met to analyze the current situation facing young people regarding the Millennium Development Goals for 2015</span><span style="color: #777777;"><span style="font-size: small;">, </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Girls’ Power Initiative (GPI) was a part of the World Youth Conference which was held from the 23</span><sup><span style="font-size: small;">rd</span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"> to 27</span><sup><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"> August, 2010.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thirty-six ministers and government officials from all continents, responsible for youth policies were also present to discuss thirteen important topics for the development of young people</span></span><span style="color: #777777;">.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">At the opening ceremony of the conference, the first woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi, urged young people to appreciate liberty and if stepped on, to raise their voices in protest. She shared that the situation in Iran does not allow ideas to be freely expressed.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">During the Magisterial Conference on Human Rights she explained the situation Iranian youth face every day. One of the biggest problems is the absence of freedom. For example, to have sexual relations outside of marriage is considered a crime punishable with 100 lashes.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Iranian laws are contradictory for young people. A 9-year-old girl can be tried as a 40-year-old woman, but the latter does not have the right to vote because she lacks the intellectual maturity to do so.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Women in Iran are dreadfully humiliated in that country, so it is very difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce and if she is granted a divorce she loses many of her rights while a man is allowed to have up to four women without having a divorce. If a man sees his wife in bed with another man he has the right to kill them both without being punished for this crime, she said.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Nobel Laureate mentioned that the limitations on Iranian youth have led many of them to try to reach a European country. She cited figures from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that say “brain drain” in Iran is the highest in the world due to the lack of liberty and of jobs.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The youths were included in the framework of the conference to provide their input and give counsel to those making the decisions regarding the priorities that should be contemplated on the global agenda of youth development, as well as to hold them accountable about the promises established in the Millennium Declaration and etc.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After a long process of analysis and consultation of the needs of the young people throughout the world and with the evident delay in fulfilling the promises made previously, youth leaders gave their consensual position in a document, demanding that the governments and their various branches take every necessary action to recognize the young people as “people with rights” and guarantee their ability to fully exercise them, with a particular emphasis on the specificities within the framework of equality against their enriching diversity.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">This broad document offers a list of recommendations for the governments of the world to assure the development of adequate legislative frameworks on a national and international level that will guarantee the basic rights of the young people in the areas of food, education, health, including sexual rights and reproductive health, employment and free participation, among others.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before the ugly truth that millions of young people confront every day, they demanded that the governments pay particular attention to the marginal youth, including the young people at risk of being discriminated for reasons such as age and gender identity, sex, race or ethnicity, migration, disabilities, and beliefs, and facilitate their full participation and inclusion into society. Also, they requested greater commitment to reach the Millennium Development Goals and to recognize young people as key agents for the development of societies.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Taking advantage of the “International Year of Youth, Dialogue and Mutual Understanding” and with the apparent concern of Nations for their youth, the ensemble of the NGO's Global Meeting asked the governments to invest at least 5 per cent of their national budget destined for defense in development programs for young people within their respective national budgets.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Furthermore, recognizing that young people can be key agents in conflict resolution, bringing together towns and promoting a culture of peace, they asked to make every possible effort to end the wars, occupations and conflicts that are unresolved in the world.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Conscious of their central role as the social subjects they are, the organizations of young people gathered in León assured that they would be permanently monitoring the activities that the governments prompt regarding youth, besides committing themselves to keep working in the principal topics that concern them such as poverty, education, heath, employment, gender equality, technology and innovation, culture, justice and safety, participation, sustainable development, migration and international cooperation, among others.</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">There were talks from other government officials after which the NGO statement was reviewed and they (the government) drafted the Guanajuato declaration based on the statement from NGO.</span></span></span></div><div align="justify" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">The Guanajuato Declaration was announced at the High-level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations´ General Assembly which was held September 20-22 with recommendations about the following topics:</span></span></span></div><ul><li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Public policies and investment </span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Poverty and hunger </span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div align="justify" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Education</span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Health </span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Employment </span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gender equality </span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div align="justify" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Technology and innovation</span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Culture </span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Access to justice and safety </span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div align="justify" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Participation</span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div align="justify" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sustainable development</span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.13cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">International migration </span></span></span></div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.49cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">International cooperation</span></span></span></div></li>
</ul><div align="center" style="line-height: 0.55cm; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="line-height: 0.55cm; margin-bottom: 0.13cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>BY OKOOJION EDEWEDE</b></span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8914707670837771149.post-12114356128866687762010-11-01T15:54:00.000-07:002011-02-26T01:12:33.461-08:00INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE AFRICAN YOUTH: Youths Can Make Peace Happen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.international.ucla.edu/media/images/00raised_hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="http://www.international.ucla.edu/media/images/00raised_hands.jpg" width="243" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">AFRICAN UNION, November 1st 2010</div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">AFRICAN YOUTH DAY AND THE LAUNCH OF THE </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF YOUTH </div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Theme</span>: « <strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">DIALOGUE <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">AND</span> </span>MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING</span></strong>»</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">MESSAGE FROM H.E.Mr. Jean PING, CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION.</span></em> </div><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>TO THE AFRICAN YOUTH</strong><br />
<br />
On the occasion of the African Youth Day 2010 and the International Year of Youth, I have the great pleasure to convey my sincere congratulations and my best wishes to all African Youth within the continent and the Diaspora!<br />
<br />
African Union believes in your dynamism, optimism, solidarity and dedication to make a peaceful Africa, while the Continent is celebrating Peace and Security for sustainable Development. I am fully confident that African youth are playing important role in this process and contributing in sharing the peace values on the Continent, because youth can make peace happen.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
The celebration of the African Youth Day on 1st November and 12 months of celebration of the occasion of the international Year of Youth are, together, given opportunities to value mutual understanding and strengthen peace among the young people in Africa, by using more comprehensive dialogue and avoiding conflicts. The theme chosen for both events is so important and meaningful for the whole Africa in a general manner and in particular for the youth. Peaceful communication and dialogue is needed in Africa and can lead all stakeholders to consensus and mutual understanding in so many issues favourable for sustainable development. <br />
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The African Union is grateful for your efforts towards networking capacity building, sharing of knowledge, values, collaboration spirit and actions with the AUC, the public authorities and private sector within the continent. The African Union, through its Commission, is also committed to provide the necessary means to facilitate youth participation, visibility, contribution and concrete results for sustainable impacts on African development. The Commission will continue contributing to the strengthening of the youth capacities, skills and networking. The AU Heads of State and Government have always expressed their political will to see the young people strengthened and empowered for quality contribution to the positive change in Africa. Therefore, you, young people of Africa, should take advantage of this opportunity and work harder for more quality and sustainable achievements. Considering the fact that in 2010, in the Summit of Heads of State and Government have decided to devote the July 2011 Summit to the reflection on ways and means to “accelerate youth empowerment for sustainable development” is even more expression of the recognition of the role that African Youth can and must play within the Continent, not only in its quest for sustainable peace, but also in development and true integration of its people, including the youth.<br />
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In response to the call of the Heads of State, the Commission, the youth leaders and the African Union Ministers in charge of youth are working through approved frameworks, programmes and projects to improve youth capacities and participation, such as the establishment and implementation of the African Union Youth Volunteers Corps, Roadmap to implement the plan of action for the Decade for youth development, the Promotion of the technical vocational education training, the Implementation of the African youth Charter, the establishment of the database and the mapping on African youth organizations, the active preparation of July 2011 Summit etc. A common position for priority actions for African youth development is adopted by African Ministers of Youth, presented in the World Youth Conference in Mexico and taken into account in the global Declaration that was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in September 2010. The youth agenda has become a priority matter in many member States and considered in many Partners’ mandate, as a necessary road to sustain African development. <br />
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I, therefore, wish to encourage all the AU Member states and the African Youth to take the advantage from this momentum on the global and continental concern towards Youth development agenda and enhance partnership in order to give more impetus on youth policies and programmes. I also encourage the stakeholders involved in youth issues to engage more dialogue in order to establish mutual understanding on problems and challenges facing the youth in Africa. It’s the only way to reach peaceful and sustainable solutions. This celebration offers a great opportunity to establish mutual confidence between generations in order to reduce the damageable existing gaps.<br />
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Finally, I encourage the African Youth to continue to champion for the dissemination of the African values among themselves and the society in general. Science and Technology are extremely important on this continent, but it may not always promote Patriotism and Pan-Africanism, but the values of Patriotism can promote good citizenship, governance, encourage the dissemination of values and constructive learning dedicated to the relevant knowledge and skills to a better mastery of Science, Technology, ICT and other necessary knowledge towards a sustainable development of Africa. <br />
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African Youth, I know you can bring the change, but are you doing enough to promote dialogue and mutual understanding” towards values, leadership, capacity building, etc.? <br />
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Your charter: the African Youth Charter holds the answer. Your responsibilities and duties to promote tolerance, understanding, dialogue and respect for others regardless of age, race ethnicity, colour, gender, religion, status and political affiliation are stated. The Charter has entered into force since August 2009. Ensure that it is implemented. Be proud of your Charter and use it! The youth in the world are using it… Be proud of being African Youth, the driving force of the continent’s development and WORK PROUDLY WITH GOOD CONSCIENCE FOR AFRICA!<br />
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Long live to the African Youth and May God continue blessing Africa!<br />
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November 1st 2010<br />
Jean Ping <br />
Chairperson of the African Union CommissionUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1