Population Council, a nonprofit, nongovernmental research organisation established in 1952, seeks to improve the wellbeing and reproductive health of current and future generations around the world and to help achieve a humane, equitable, and sustainable balance between people and resources. The Council analyses population issues and trends; conducts research in the reproductive sciences; devel...

OBJECTIVE To assess the sexual and reproductive health interventions included by countries in HIV-related proposals approved by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). METHODS We examined the Global Fund database for elements and indicators of sexual and reproductive health in all approved HIV-related proposals (214) submitted by 134 countries, from rounds 1 to ...

BACKGROUND Adolescents have significant sexual and reproductive health needs. However, complex legal frameworks, and social attitudes about adolescent sexuality, including the values of healthcare providers, govern adolescent access to sexual and reproductive health services. These laws and social attitudes are often antipathetic to sexual and gender minorities. Existing literature assumes that...

CONTEXT To develop interventions to promote responsible sexual behaviors and design reproductive health services for adolescent males, we need a better understanding of the context of reproductive health in adolescent males' lives. METHODS A total of 32 males (mean age, 15.5 years) were recruited from two urban high schools. At each school, three group sessions, consisting of both individual ...

Bangladesh has made major shifts in health policy and programme initiatives since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The lead author of this commentary has previously described the pivotal post-ICPD change in ‘health policy priorities and investments, from a narrow focus on family planning to comprehensive services for sexual and reproductive health (SRH)’ (...

Amid all the debate and hysteria around abortion in health reform, one of the crucial truths obscured is that the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010 [1] brought with it the promise of substantial improvements in insurance coverage of other reproductive health services in the United States. Expanded insurance coverage generally and new protections for the sco...

Adolescents have particular needs in health care that are often not met. Health care providers can help overcome barriers that hinder adolescents' effective use of health services by incorporating health literacy strategies that are developmentally and contextually appropriate, and that actively involve adolescents in their own learning. Based on extensive practice and research experience in Ca...

CONTEXT Little is known about the sexual and reproductive health care needs of female sex workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. METHODS Survey data were collected from 354 hotel-based and 323 street-based female sex workers using a venue-based stratified cluster sampling approach. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 female sex workers recruited from drop-in centers. We calculated ...

We found the commentary on vouchers by Menotti and Farrell, published in the September issue of GHSP, thought-provoking and comprehensive. At Marie Stopes International (MSI), every year we deliver half a million voluntary contraception and maternal health services via voucher programs in 8 countries.Wehave directly experienced that “vouchers can be a highly effective tool to increase access to...

As Catholic-owned hospitals merge with or take over other facilities, they impose restrictions on reproductive health services, including abortion and contraceptive services. Our interviews with US obstetrician-gynecologists working in Catholic-owned hospitals revealed that they are also restricted in managing miscarriages. Catholic-owned hospital ethics committees denied approval of uterine ev...