Insights & Updates – Page 11 – Global Reproductive Health at Duke

Director’s Blog March 2021

March 8, 2021December 10, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

Today, March 8, is the International Women’s Day (IWD) a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It’s also the date that the Duke Center for Global Reproductive Health launched three years ago. This year’s theme for IWD is #choosetochallenge. Reflecting not only the immense challenges of the past year, but many of the longstanding gender and other biases that impact our world, the organizers have called on people around the world to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality while seeking out and celebrating women’s achievements. You can join the challenge here. Gender bias alone is not the only challenge impacting women’s health, health equity and equal participation in the workforce. February and March are Black history and Women’s history months, respectively. This past February, twenty leading health organizations released a statement designating February 28 and March 1 as dates to acknowledge the three enslaved women, Betsey, Lucy and Anarcha, who were experimented...

Launch of the Kisumu Cervical Cancer Alliance Website

January 15, 2021December 10, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

On Thursday, January 14, the Kisumu Cervical Cancer Alliance held a Zoom meeting to review current plans and status of cervical cancer prevention in the region, and to launch their new website: www.kisumucanceralliance.org. The KCCA was started approximately three years ago to harmonize and increase the impact of cervical cancer prevention efforts among health care systems, non-profit organizations and government programs. Their mission is to “create an alliance of partners and stakeholder working to improve cancer screening, treatment and rehabilitation services in Kisumu County.” The website will serve as a resource for people interested in learning more about screening and vaccination and for women diagnosed with cervical cancer. Partners working in cervical cancer can share their work, and learn more about what control efforts in the region. The Kisumu first lady, Dorothy Nyongo, who has been a powerful advocate in cancer control for the region, was in attendance. She lauded the work, stating that “despite Covid, she is proud that...

Abortion Rights, Global Aid, & COVID-19: How Do They all Tie Together?

December 12, 2020December 10, 2024 by Nicole ForlanNo Comments

Ethiopian health clinics supporting teenagers have been shut down. Decades worth of HIV care integration and family planning progress have completely unraveled in Kenya (Henderson, 2020). The duties of government workers dedicated to traveling the Himalayas to share health related information have been stopped (Henderson, 2020). These are some of the effects from the implementation of President Trump’s 2017 global aid policy, “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance.” The “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance,” also referred to as the “The Global Gag Rule,” has made lasting impacts under the Trump administration (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2020). This policy requires non-governmental organizations to refrain from using funds from U.S. and non-U.S. sources to promote or provide abortion care as a form of family planning (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2020). This policy is an extension of the Mexico City Policy which was first announced in 1984 at an international conference under President Reagan's administration and the policy has been in and out of effect...

Challenges to Maternal Mental Health During the COVID-19 Crisis

December 10, 2020December 10, 2024 by Uma GovindswamyNo Comments

The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has devastated communities across the United States since early this spring and continues to do so on a global scale. The impact on maternal health and welfare, and by extension child health has not been lost on mothers across the world. Hospitals have closed their doors to visitors and accompanying loved ones for those seeking healthcare – victims of COVID-19 fight alone and too often succumb to the illness without their primary emotional support systems, but rather in isolated rooms with little human contact. In the case of pregnant and expectant mothers, this means potentially giving birth alone. These women are now also kept in isolation rooms, away from their families and loved ones, and surrounded by healthcare workers masked in personal protective equipment – a far cry from the societal norms previously established and long withstanding (Hermann, Fitelson, & Bergink, 2020). This newfound isolation and the impact of the pandemic extends to reaching antenatal care and...

What President-Elect Biden’s win means for COVID relief in Kenya and other low- and middle-income countries

December 6, 2020December 10, 2024 by Kelly HunterNo Comments

Recent attention has been focused on what the Biden-Harris administration can accomplish with executive orders starting from day one. From student debt relief to fully implementing the Defense Production Act, these actions can have a direct impact on domestic economic relief and health care. History tells us that, like every recent Democratic presidential administration, within the first few days of office Biden will also repeal the Global Gag Rule. This executive order will permit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving U.S. foreign aid to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion advocacy and abortion services. But the impact this action could have goes well beyond abortion and into other areas of public health as well. From July-October 2020, my two undergraduate research assistants (Ema Kuczura and Sarah Hubner) and I interviewed 35 sexual and reproductive health NGOs in Kenya who universally reported that the Global Gag Rule (implemented by the Trump administration in January 2017 and expanded by Secretary of State...

Director’s Blog December 2020

December 6, 2020December 10, 2024 by Megan HuchkoNo Comments

The past eight months have been a time of unexpected and often stressful changes as we navigate life with Covid-19 amidst a period of social and political unrest in this country. As the year comes to a close, we’ve chosen to focus this newsletter on the changes we’ve experienced over the past semester—what we’ll keep, what we’ve learned and how this has been a powerful catalyst for our work. At this stage in the pandemic, the changes that felt temporary have become engrained into our daily lives—it’s natural to grab a mask before leaving the house, standing six feet away is the norm and it’s assumed that when we set up a meeting, it will be by Zoom. While most of us can’t wait to resume more normalcy in our social and personal lives, some of these necessary changes have turned out to have unexpected benefits. Personally, I get to see my kids a lot more than I did before...

Washington Sex-Ed Curriculum

November 17, 2020December 10, 2024 by Camden NelsonNo Comments

This November 3rd, voters in Washington will be voting on a law to ensure a comprehensive sexual education curriculum in schools. The new law, called Referendum 90, would require schools districts to adopt a sexual education curriculum consistent with state standards. This new law encourages schools to follow a curriculum approved by the state, although they are allowed to develop their own provided that they are inclusive, age-appropriate, and teach medically accurate information about contraceptives and disease prevention. Parents are allowed to review material and request to excuse their children. The curriculum mandates at least 6 lessons throughout grades K-12, with a minimum of one lesson between kindergarten and third grade, one in grade four or five, two in middle school, and two in high school. In the earlier lessons, content would focus on social-emotional learning such as how to cope with feelings or how to set goals. Proponents of the bills cite rising sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancies, and...

Supreme Court’s Recent Ruling on Abortion Drug

November 17, 2020December 10, 2024 by Camden NelsonNo Comments

The latest victory for abortion rights: the supreme court declined to reinstate restriction for patients seeking to obtain a drug used for early pregnancy abortions. With COVID-19 continuing to ravage through the country, the Supreme Court allowed a blocking of FDA rules requiring an in-person visit with a medical professional to pick up mifepristone, the drug in question which is the first of two drugs taken to terminate pregnancies less than 10 weeks. The ACLU argues on behalf of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that the FDA rules served no purpose and forced women to face unnecessary risks with added trips to the doctor during the pandemic. Mifepristone is the only medication that the FDA forced patients to pick up in clinic, despite the fact that women can take the pill without supervision. This comes as a blow to the Trump administration, as he asked the supreme court to reinstate this rule earlier in the year despite the...

State Policies and Reproductive Rights

November 17, 2020December 10, 2024 by Camden NelsonNo Comments

Reproductive rights remain a contested and highly debated topic, largely left up to the discretion of states to decide on more or less restrictive policies. However, recent research has provided evidence that states with less restrictive policies see better birth outcomes. In a new study released just a week ago on October 13th, Sudhinaraset and her team compared several reproductive policies across states including, mandatory parent consent for minors seeking abortion, mandatory waiting periods, restrictions on public funding for abortion, percentage of women living in counties with abortion providers, expanded eligibility for Medicaid family planning services, and mandatory sexual education in schools. The results show that women in most restrictive states showed a 7% higher low birth weight risk when compared to women in the least restrictive states. They also showed the less restrictive policies are particularly protective against adverse birth outcomes for Black women. As more restrictive policies are being put in place and status of certain reproductive rights...

Restrictions on US Global Health Assistance Reduce Key Health Services in Supported Countries

November 17, 2020December 10, 2024 by Amy ZhaoNo Comments

The 2017 Mexico City Policy, or Global Gag Rule, prohibits non-US-based NGOs from receiving US global health assistance if they either perform or refer for abortion services. Sherwood et al. (2020) studied the effects of the expanded policy on implementing partners of US-funded HIV programming by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) via a survey in all recipient countries. Survey results showed that 28% of organizations reported stopping or reducing at least one service in response to the policy. The delivery of information about sexual and reproductive health, pregnancy counseling, contraceptive provision, and HIV testing were services reduced. These disproportionately harmed pregnant women, youth and vulnerable populations such as sex workers and men who have sex with men. Thus, the intended beneficiaries of PEPFAR funding may be the most negatively impacted, especially in areas with high HIV prevalence. This study calls attention to policy makers to respond to disruptions in service delivery from the expanded Mexico City Policy...

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