Accelerate progress—sexual and reproductive health and rights for all: report of the Guttmacher–Lancet Commission

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are fundamental to people\u27s health and survival, to economic development, and to the wellbeing of humanity. Several decades of research have shown—and continue to show—the profound and measurable benefits of investment in sexual and reproductive health. Through international agreements, governments have committed to such investment. Yet progress has been stymied because of weak political commitment, inadequate resources, persistent discrimination against women and girls, and an unwillingness to address issues related to sexuality openly and comprehensively. Health and development initiatives, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the movement toward universal health coverage, typically focus on particular components of SRHR: contraception, maternal and newborn health, and HIV/AIDS. Countries around the world have made remarkable gains in these areas over the past few decades, but the gains have been inequitable among and within countries, and services have often fallen short in coverage and quality. Moreover, in much of the world, people have insufficient access to a full set of sexual and reproductive health services, and their sexual and reproductive rights are not respected or protected. Acceleration of progress therefore requires adoption of a more holistic view of SRHR and tackling of neglected issues, such as adolescent sexuality, gender-based violence, abortion, and diversity in sexual orientations and gender identities

Accelerate progress—Sexual and reproductive health and rights for all: Report of the Guttmacher–Lancet Commission

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are fundamental to people\u27s health and survival, to economic development, and to the wellbeing of humanity. Several decades of research have shown—and continue to show—the profound and measurable benefits of investment in sexual and reproductive health. Through international agreements, governments have committed to such investment. Yet progress has been stymied because of weak political commitment, inadequate resources, persistent discrimination against women and girls, and an unwillingness to address issues related to sexuality openly and comprehensively

Hopes, dreams and anxieties: India's one-child families

While rapid fertility decline in India in the last two decades has received considerable attention, much of the discourse has focused on a decline in high parity births. However, this paper finds that, almost hidden from the public gaze, a small but significant segment of the Indian population has begun the transition to extremely low fertility. Among the urban, upper income, educated, middle classes, it is no longer unusual to find families stopping at one child, even when this child is a girl. Using data from the India Human Development Survey of 2004–2005, we examine the factors that may lead some families to stop at a single child. We conclude that the motivations for this very low fertility are likely to be a more extreme form of those for low fertility rather than reflecting the qualitative change in ideologies and worldviews that is hypothesized to accompany very low fertility during the second demographic transition