Doing more with less: The Marie Stopes Clinics in Sierra Leone

This edition of Quality/Calidad/Qualité reports on the Marie Stopes Sierra Leone (MSSL) organization which pursues its goals with compassion and ambition, despite seemingly insurmountable economic hardships. MSSL has established a service model that many programs in richer countries should try to imitate. Several particularly important lessons emerged, including: creative, skillful management, well-organized and flexible financial administration, and human motivation and perseverance can enable an organization to overcome financial difficulties; family planning is an integral part of people\u27s reproductive and general health concerns and can dovetail with concern for development in useful and practical ways; men appreciate being involved in the care of their children; and a woman-centered reproductive healthcare service can help empower women to care for and value themselves

Sexual coercion and reproductive health: A focus on research

Gender-based violence is ignored or denied in most societies and neglected by health professionals and researchers, yet it persists in almost all societies, and, in some, it is on the increase. This report is aimed at those in the family planning/reproductive health field who desire to conduct research or implement programs to address sexual violence and its impact on women\u27s reproductive health. Furthermore, it contributes to a better understanding of the context of sexual coercion as well as its causes and consequences. The ideas presented herein are derived largely from a two-day meeting jointly organized by the Ebert Program in Reproductive Health of the Population Council and the Health and Development Policy Project. Meeting discussions are supplemented with relevant written material, giving emphasis to literature published by meeting participants. The document includes a list of recommendations developed by the participants for future work on sexual coercion in the family planning/reproductive health arena

Arab Women: A Profile of Diversity and Change [Arabic]

The status of Arab women is the subject of much speculation, generalization, and stereotyping by those inside and outside the region. The paucity of objective, accessible information makes Arab women one of the least understood social groups. The aim of this book is to help correct misconceptions about Arab women by introducing systematic information for 21 Arab countries. Widely published international statistical data, mostly from the United Nations and the World Bank, were used for the comparisons. These datasets are compiled from country reports, national surveys, and aggregated smaller studies. They are by no means comprehensive or devoid of inaccuracies, however they remain the best available information at this time. The paucity of information on Arab countries in general, and Arab women in particular, made the task a challenge, and considerable determination and finesse were required in some instances. As stated in this book, further data collection must become a constant and collective effort at national, regional, and international levels

Arab Women: A Profile of Diversity and Change

The status of Arab women is the subject of much speculation, generalization, and stereotyping by those inside and outside the region. The paucity of objective, accessible information makes Arab women one of the least understood social groups. The aim of this book is to help correct misconceptions about Arab women by introducing systematic information for 21 Arab countries. Widely published international statistical data, mostly from the United Nations and the World Bank, were used for the comparisons. These datasets are compiled from country reports, national surveys, and aggregated smaller studies. They are by no means comprehensive or devoid of inaccuracies, however they remain the best available information at this time. The paucity of information on Arab countries in general, and Arab women in particular, made the task a challenge, and considerable determination and finesse were required in some instances. As stated in this book, further data collection must become a constant and collective effort at national, regional, and international levels

Female genital cutting, women's health and development: the role of the World Bank

Female Genital Cutting, Women’s Health, and Development is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank’s ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. This strategy paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the issue of female genital mutilation/cutting—scope, challenges, opportunities, best practices, and how communities, development agencies, and national governments can work together to eliminate the practices on the ground. The World Bank is committed to assisting governments in ending the practice of female genital cutting, as the practice has a direct, negative impact on the health and well-being of women around the world. The recommendations set forth in this paper take advantage of the World Bank’s comparative advantage in dealing with governments. Continued silence perpetuates the practice, thereby undermining women’s productivity.Corte Genital Femenino, Salud de la Mujer y Desarrollo forma parte de la serie de documentos de trabajo del Banco Mundial de Documentación Laboral. Estos documentos son publicados para comunicar los resultados de la investigación en curso y estimular el debate público. Este documento de estrategia proporciona una comprensión sobre la mutilación genital femenina, desafíos, oportunidades, mejores prácticas y cómo las comunidades, las agencias de desarrollo y los gobiernos nacionales pueden trabajar juntos para eliminar las prácticas sobre en este terreno. El Banco Mundial está comprometido a ayudar a los gobiernos en finalizar este tipo de prácticas, referente al corte genital femenino, puesto que estas tienen un impacto directo y negativo sobre la salud y el bienestar de las mujeres de todo el mundo. Las recomendaciones enunciadas en este documento aprovechan las ventajas comparativas del Banco tomando ventaja en el trato con los gobiernos. El silencio continuo perpetúa la práctica, socavando así la productividad de las mujeres

Female circumcision as a public health issue. by Nahid Toubia

This article reviews the common types of circumcision, their complications, and the challenges in giving appropriate care to circumcised women. It also gives a brief review of the legal and ethical issues that include consideration of existing and expected pieces of legislation and what they mean to the medical profession. Provided by MICAH

Reproductive Rights Advocacy: Concentration of effort, dilution of intention

Pascale Allotey and Daniel D. Reidpath discuss the issue of female genital cutting and obstetric fistulae within the context of reproductive rights advocacy. They use these examples to discuss the potential effects on the broader reproductive rights agenda of interventions that focus narrowly on what is often a symptom of unaddressed structural violence. They argue for a broader rights approach rather than simply focusing on ameliorating the specific harm, in order to focus on the more fundamental goal, that is, the promotion of the positive freedoms. Development (2005) 48, 69–74. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100181