BACKGROUND Availability and accessibility of sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents are very crucial for prevention and control of sexual and reproductive health problems. These services also play vital roles in the promotion of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health generally. The main purpose of the study was to determine the availability and accessibility (geographical ...

This article advocates for legislative action against the “religious exemptions” or ”conscience clauses” used by religiously-affiliated healthcare facilities, particular in the context of refusing abortion, sterilization, and other reproductive health services. Among other recommendations, the authors call for religious exemptions on the individual rather than institutional level; that the reli...

BACKGROUND The utilization of reproductive health services is an important component in preventing adolescents from different sexual and reproductive health problems. It plays a vital role in safeguarding youth in Sub-Saharan African countries including Ethiopia, which accounts for a high proportion of the region's new HIV infections as well as maternal and infant mortality ratios. Due to this,...

The study investigated the determinants of birth weight in Botswana using instrumental variable (2SLS) model applied to the Botswana Family Health Survey (BFHS) data for 1996. The findings suggest that birth weight is positively and significantly influenced by the mother’s socioeconomic characteristics (tetanus immunization status, age, education level) and the husband’s education level. From t...

The shared goals of contraceptive development and service delivery efforts are to help individuals and couples achieve their fertility intentions in a healthy, affordable and timely manner. Some would believe that now that contraceptive use has reached 60% in developing countries, there is little need for further investment in product research and development or family planning service delivery...

BACKGROUND The South African legal and policy framework for sexual and reproductive healthcare provision for teenagers is complex. OBJECTIVE The article outlines the dilemmas emanating from the legal and policy framework, summarises issues with implementation of the legal and policy framework in practice, and summarises recent changes to the law. METHODS In-depth analysis of the legal and p...

Poverty is often identified as a major barrier to human development. It is also a powerful brake on accelerated progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. Poverty is also a major cause of maternal mortality, as it prevents many women from getting proper and adequate medical attention due to their inability to afford good antenatal care. This Paper thus examines poverty as a threat to hum...

bAckground: Although several reproductive health interventions, such as the Adolescent Reproductive Health Policy, have been introduced in Ghana, many young people find it uneasy seeking for reproductive health information and services. Yet, most studies about utilization of reproductive health services in Ghana focus on adolescents without considering young people aged above 19 years. objectIv...

Unwelcoming behaviours and judgemental attitudes have long been recognised as a barrier to young people's access to reproductive health services. Over the last decade youth friendly reproductive health services have been promoted and implemented world-wide. However, long term evidence of the impact of these programmes is lacking. We report the results of a large mystery client evaluation of ado...