In this 60-Second Health podcast from Scientific American, Paul Farmer purports that equity is the best approach to evaluating and addressing global health issues.
What are your thoughts on framing international health issues in terms of fairness and equity?
Today, September 26, 2011, marks the 5th annual World Contraception Day. This multinational campaign aims to draw awareness to the need for contraception access globally, targeting teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19, as they are often the most inexperienced in using contraception. This year’s theme is “Live Your Life, Know your rights, Learn about contraception” strives to bring attention to the right of young people to access accurate and unbiased information about contraception in order to prevent an unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection (STI) As USAID states, “every individual that wants them should have access to contraceptives and condoms for family planning and for HIV/AIDS prevention.”
We can be inspired by both the work that these world leaders are accomplishing and by the fact that, in today’s modern society, a global list such as this exists to recognize and honor the work being done to improve girls’ and women’s lives throughout the world. Not only is this a reflection of what forward-thinking, hard-working, intelligent minds can accomplish, but it is also an indication of the progress which has been made in the recent decades towards acknowledging the injustice which exists amongst the world’s females and the vast potential which women and girls have to create positive change in the world.
Below are just a few of the 100 inspirational individuals, each with a unique story and an innovative approach to bettering the lives of females:
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies female genital mutilation (FGM) into four types, ranging from partial to total removal of the 
external female genitalia. The first type is known as clitoridectomy and involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris. The second type is referred to as excision and involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris, labia minora, with or without the excision of the labia majora. The third type is called infibulation, requiring the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal by cutting and repositioning the inner or outer labia with or without removal of the clitoris. The fourth type has no official designation and involves all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes such as pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.
It is estimated that about 140 million women worldwide have been subjected to FGM and a further two million are at risk every year. FGM takes place in about 40 countries (28 of them in Africa) such as Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Kurdistan, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada.
The procedure is not limited to a single religion and is heavily influenced by the desire to conform to tradition. Many girls are compliant with the procedure because they believe they will be outcasts if they are not circumcised. In Sudan for example, it is prevalent in Muslim communities while in Kenya, it is common among Christians. Neither the Qu’ran nor the Bible endorse the practice. FGM predates both the Qu’ran and the Bible and possibly Judaism, appearing in the 2nd century BC.
Typically, it is the parents of girls aged 5-14 who initiate the FGM process because they believe that it will preserve virginity, communicate status, and even protect them from rape. Despite the medical implications involved, many mothers believe that they are doing the best for their daughters. It is also believed that FGM will decrease sexual desire in women, increase male pleasure during intercourse and maintain fidelity within a marriage.
The procedure is often done on the pretense that the child will be receiving a special gift, going on a vacation or will be “becoming a woman”. A young girl would visit a trusted older female relative who lacks medical training in a different town or distant village. One day during that visit, she would be taken to a location where she would be restrained by adults who would hold her down to the ground as she endures the extremely painful procedure that is carried out using a knife or some other cutting tool. In some cases, instruments such as tin can lids are used to cut and thorns are used to stitch the victims up. Only in rare cases is this carried out with anesthetic or in a clinical environment.
This event is organized by the New York Medical Student Coalition Against Torture (NYMSCAT@gmail.com). Email to learn more, request materials, and get involved!
As I have written previously, medical professionals, students, and human rights groups in New York State are teaming up for action to pass the nation’s first law holding medical professionals accountable for assisting torture and abuse of prisoners. AMSA is proud to join the list of organizations putting their support behind the proposed legislation:
ANTI-TORTURE LOBBY DAY in Albany: Join AMSA and PHR with medical students from across the state in our first Anti-Torture Lobby Day in Albany on May 18th! This is our chance to meet with our local lawmakers and tell them that ending torture is important to us as ethical medical professionals and Americans. We will meet at 9AM for a white-coat press conference and advocacy training with experts from the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, and follow up with advocacy meetings. If you are a NY State resident and a medical or pre-medical student, don’t miss this chance for real-time local action for human rights!
Don’t forget to sign the petition: Stop Torture NY.org
Read AMSA’s statement of support after the cut:
[This article was originally posted on Open Forum, a blog supported by the community of Health and Human Rights: An International Journal]
On December 22, New Zealand and Belgium became the 25th and 26th nations to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). The convention needs only four more ratifications to achieve the 30-state minimum to enter into force. Once in force, it will enact a ban on the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of most cluster munitions, which include bombs, missiles, or rockets that open midair to scatter tens to thousands of small submunitions over a wide area. The CCM also requires that states destroy their stockpiles in eight years, clear contaminated land within ten years, and provide victim assistance. Read the rest of this entry →
Note: The GP editorial staff’s thoughts and hearts go out in solidarity to the residents of Port-au-Prince and their families, as well as our colleagues in Haiti. We will be updating this post as more information becomes available.
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Earthquake Crisis in Haiti
Original post by Wilnise Jasmin [01.14.2010 @ 6:53 AM EST]
As you may have already heard, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck about 10 miles southwest of Port-au- Prince, Haiti at about 5 pm Tuesday night. The quake ravaged the infrastructure of Haiti’s fragile government and destroyed some of its most important cultural symbols.
“Parliament has collapsed,” Mr. Préval told The Miami Herald. “The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed. There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them.” He added: “All of the hospitals are packed with people. It is a catastrophe.”
President Obama promised that Haiti would have the “unwavering support” of the United States.
Haitian authorities and humanitarian aid organizations are struggling to respond amid devastation. Read the rest of this entry →
This is a guest post by Daniel Rhee, AMSA Global’s Health and Human Rights coordinator. It was originally posted on the Global listserv in honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11, 2010.
“To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world. In fact, it occurs in every country, including the United States, and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do. ” - Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton (full article here)
Good afternoon, Global!
Today is National Global Human Trafficking Awareness day, and for those who are unfamiliar, human trafficking is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” (UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons)
It is one of several forms of slavery that exist today (click here to learn about modern slavery), and as our Secretary of State stated so clearly, it is not just an international issue, but a domestic one as well.
Here are some quick facts from freetheslaves.net and the US DOJ:
So for those of you who want to learn/do more, here are a few things for today: Read the rest of this entry →
On behalf of Physicians for Human Rights, I am pleased to announce the conference below. For more information, please visit www.PHRStudentConference.org.
Physicians for Human Rights National Conference
Health and Human Rights in 2010
Saturday, February 20th, 2010
Boston University Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts
Register now at www.PHRStudentConference.org! Read the rest of this entry →
Between World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) and International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10), PHR is gathering 10,000 signatures asking the U.S. Senate to ratify the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 2010.
Conceived as a “Bill of Rights for Women,” CEDAW sets a common international definition for gender-based discrimination, and establishes an agenda for ending it. States ratifying CEDAW are required to institutionalize gender equality through domestic legislation, repeal and replace all discriminatory provisions in their laws, and establish public institutions of recourse for women who require protection against discrimination.
Discrimination is bad. Women should have equal rights. Surely this is something we can agree on? Not so fast. Read further for the controversial stuff. Read the rest of this entry →
