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“Best Practices” and “Exemplar Communities”: Ivory Tower Housing Solutions for Haiti
Crossposted from Other Worlds. In a 2011 Forum on the Crisis of Housing in Haiti, a group of camp residents and advocates asked “grassroots organizations and all other movements to mobilize with us on the housing issue so that we can achieve this dream of justice and liberty.” Today, with more than 500,000 people still living under sun-scorched tarps two years after the earthquake of January, 2010, the Haitian housing rights movement continues to gain urgency. Demanding comprehensive housing policy in the long term and decent, secure housing in the short term, the groups that comprise the movement have created...More
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Add to NewsvineA Comprehensive Health Strategy Can End Cervical Cancer Deaths
Originally published at IPPF/WHRIn January, health providers throughout the United States recognized Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, reminding women and adolescent girls of the steps needed to prevent this disease.The good news is that cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers when caught early. It is caused by specific types of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is a common infection that nearly everyone who is sexually active will have at some point in their lives. Among medical professionals there is a general consensus that vaccinations, regular pap tests beginning at the age of 21, and HPV tests help prevent...More
New Libya, Old Abuses
I was returning by taxi to the hotel I was staying in Tripoli with an Argentine friend when, unexpectedly, I understood the characteristics of the regime of former Libyan dictator Muammar el-Qaddafi. We had started talking to the driver who, in perfect English, answered our questions. When he heard we were Argentines his face lit up and he started talking excitedly about the Argentine former soccer player Diego Maradona. Undoubtedly, the soccer star's name, with its tinsel achieved as a player and despite his personal chiaroscuro, remains a magnet around the world. At one point, as we passed by a...More
Avoidable, Tragic Cuban Deaths
The recent death in Cuba of 31-year-old Wilman Villar Mendoza - who was on a hunger strike as a protest for having been sentenced to four years in prison - is a severe indictment of the Cuban regime and of its avowed respect for human rights. Villar Mendoza’s death follows that of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, another Cuban dissident, who died in 2009 following an 80-day hunger strike. Villar was arrested last November for disrespecting authority and resisting arrest. He protested the sentence going on a hunger strike. His wife, Maritza Pellegrino, said that initially Cuba’s state security hadn’t allowed her...More
Guatemala Private Sector Says No To Tax Increase
Cross-posted from The Guatemala Times. Guatemala City. January 20, 2012 The private sector of Guatemala today made it crystal clear to President Otto Perez that they will not agree to any tax increases. Today the Guatemalan Congress was supposed to present an initiative of the official party to reform of the tax system; it has been delayed until Monday. Javier Zepeda, President of Guatemala’s Chamber of Industry, (CIG) and Jorge Briz, President of the Chamber of Commerce expressed that they disagree and propose other methods to increase the revenue of the government. • Picture: Barbara Schieber, Old Señor Juan, cayuco,...More
39 Years After Roe Latin American and Caribbean Women Struggle for Abortion Rights
Originally published at IPPF/WHRJanuary 22nd marks the 39th anniversary of one of the most significant legal decisions of the 20th century, Roe v. Wade. This landmark ruling from the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion and changed the course of history for women in this country. Yet women in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to struggle for this basic reproductive right. According to a report released by the Guttmacher Institute this week, 95% of abortions in Latin America are unsafe. In places where abortion is illegal, women often turn to inadequately trained practitioners who employ unsafe techniques or attempt to...More
A World At Risk
In its latest outlook of the global economy, The World Economic Forum Global Risks 2012 report paints a gloomy panorama of the future if world’s institutions –governments, private industry, academic institutions and social organizations- don’t make some radical changes. The report was prepared as a prelude to the Davos, Switzerland, meeting later this month. Increasing number of unemployed young people, growing number of elderly people dependent on the states and the expanding gap between the rich and the poor are sowing ‘seeds of dystopia’. This term was originally coined by the British philosopher John Stuart Mill as a contrast to...More
Going Green in 2012: 12 Steps for the Developing World
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet. Many of us are thinking about the changes we want to make this year. For some, these changes will be financial; for others, physical or spiritual. But for all of us, there are important resolutions we can make to “green” our lives. Although this is often a subject focused on by industrialized nations, people in developing countries can also take important steps to reduce their growing environmental impact. • By using biogas collection tanks, farmers in Rwanda are already helping to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack) •“We...More
How Are Environment and Reproductive Health Communities Working Together for Rio+20?
Originally published at IPPF/WHR • Photo credit: Elise Mann •As a part of The Aspen Institute's 7 Billion: Conversations that Matter series, IPPF/WHR Regional Director Carmen Barroso spoke on a panel last Thursday entitled "The Road to Rio: Climate Change, Population and Sustainability." The event featured leaders from the environmental, sustainability, and women’s rights movements who will participate in the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Summit in June 2012.Global weather volatility and the ongoing financial crisis increase the need for new approaches to sustainable development. Meanwhile, more than 200 million women worldwide lack the means to choose how many...More
Choice Words: An Interview with Jennifer Baumgardner on Reproductive Rights
Originally published at IPPF/WHR “How will you marshal your power, skills, and values to make the world a place in which all people matter?” asks Jennifer Baumgardner in her recently published book, F 'em! Goo goo, Gaga, and Some Thoughts on Balls. For more than 15 years, Baumgardner has used her own unique skills as a writer to passionately promote sexual and reproductive rights, especially the right to access safe abortion.In 2004, Baumgardner received national attention for the “I Had an Abortion” project, which encouraged women to challenge the stigma abortion carries by telling their personal stories. She is currently...More
Will Brazil's Pregnancy Registration Law Reduce Maternal Mortality?
Originally published at IPPF/WHR For most women, pregnancy is a time filled with uncertainty and anticipation. For many women in Brazil, it is a time filled with fear.According to the World Health Organization, over 4,000 women in Brazil die from pregnancy and childbirth related causes every year. This loss of life accounts for more than a quarter of maternal deaths in all of Latin America. Due to restrictive abortion laws, more than one in ten maternal deaths in Brazil can be attributed to unsafe abortion.Although the maternal mortality rate in Brazil is decreasing, this progress is not without inequality. Rural...More
MEXFAM Thrives Despite Threats to Safe Abortion in Mexico
Originally published at IPPF/WHR Last week The Nation published a story on "Mexico's Anti-Abortion Backlash." In the article, writer Mary Cuddehe examines the criminalization of abortion in Mexico and how the recent "personhood amendment" push in the United States bears strong similarities to anti-abortion strategies enacted by our southern neighbor. When discussing the impact Mexico's anti-abortion laws are having on women's health and safety, Cuddehe writes:...state prosecutors dusted off the old abortion penal codes—most of which call for prison terms or fines—and opened investigations: ten in Veracruz, thirty in Puebla and thirty-one in Hidalgo. In 2009 in the southern state of...More
Two Years after the Earthquake in Haiti, “Housing Is Our Battle"
Cross-posted from Other Worlds. Remember, you are marching today for those who couldn’t be here, To say to them, “We haven’t forgotten. We’ll never forget.” And to say to those that are still here, We will take a stand for the rebuilding of Haiti. - Right to Housing Collective, January 12, 2012 On the morning of January 12, 2012, a group of women, children and men wound their way through the city wearing white, the Haitian color for mourning. Part memorial, they deposited wreaths of flowers on sites that had become mass graves during the 2010 earthquake, and part protest,...More
STOP PIPA (Senate 968) & SOPA (HR 3261)
Imagine a world without craigslist, Wikipedia, Google, or your favorite sites? it will be pretty bad. News Corp, RIAA, MPAA, Nike, Sony, Comcast, VISA & others want to make that world your reality. 80 Members of Congress are in their sway, 30 against, the rest undecided or undeclared. Please take a minute to tell your Members of Congress you OPPOSE PIPA & SOPA If you support 968 "Protect IP Act" (PIPA) & H.R. 3261 "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA), you are potentially supporting an impending black out of your favorite website. Tell Senate & Congress you OPPOSE them!! Corporate supporters...More
51st Anniversary of Patrice Lumumba's Assassination
Today, Tuesday, January 17, 2012 is the 51st anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba by the United States and Belgium (Belgium apologized in 2002), in cahoots with select Congolese elites. Congolese people and friends of the Congo throughout the globe commemorate Lumumba's assassination each year to bring attention to the Congolese people's pursuit of freedom and liberation in the heart of Africa. Since the assassination of Lumumba, the foreign multi-national corporations of the 1% profit from the plundering of Congo's abundant mineral resources and are complicit in the super-exploitation of Congolese labor. They are also the underlying engine of...More
German Gems: This Weekend in the Bay Area
This weekend I will be at German Gems. I'm super excited about this year's festival as I had a great time last year. Such exciting Q&As with filmmakers and actors! I asked organizer Ingrid Eggers her favorite thing about organizing and running the festival, "Organizing is my least favorite part of this endeavor but when it all comes together it is great to see an enthusistic audience embracing German films." She viewed over 50 German films and picked her top five to screen this weekend. This is the last year for the festival, so I highly recommend if you're in...More
Creating an Enemy
Recently, as we discussed international political events, a friend told me, “Countries are like people: they react in the same manner.” I didn’t quite realize the full import of her words until now that I view the seemingly inevitable path to war between the United States/Israel and Iran. There are abundant historical examples to prove that an effective weapon in creating antagonism between countries as a prelude to war is by dehumanizing the enemy. Although the Holocaust during World War II and the Rwandan genocide are extreme cases of enemy dehumanization, a similar process exists almost every time there is...More
Our Take on the Colom Presidency
Cross-posted from The Guatemala Times. Guatemala City. The Guatemalan mainstream media has unleashed an increased and endless flow of bad press for President Colom and his government since Otto Perez won the election. Just as it started out in January 2008, the mainstream media – with the only exception of La Hora, had extra-officially declared: no mercy, we take no prisoners. Very much like Fox news treated President Barak Obama when he was elected. The Media Guatemala’s mainstream media is owned by the status quo and defends the status quo. President Colom was always seen as a threat to the...More
UN Secretary-General Makes Global Health a Priority
Originally published on the IPPF/WHR blog.As the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon is uniquely positioned to heighten awareness of pressing international issues. This month marks the beginning of Ki-moon's second five-year term, and he has already made his commitment to global health clear.“We have to connect the dots among climate change, [the] food crisis, water scarcity, energy shortages and women’s empowerment and global health issues. These are all interconnected issues,” he told UN Radio.Over recent decades, popular understanding of the relationship between population, sustainability, and global reproductive rights has advanced significantly. We now know that it is not an...More
Economic Crisis in Greece and Its Effect on Health
The deteriorating global economic outlook is increasing worries among health experts on the effects that the economic crises will have on people’s health. As the World Health Organization stated in 2009, “It is not yet clear what the current financial crisis will mean for low-income and emerging economies, but many predictions are highly pessimistic.” In low-income countries, economic crises lead to a reduction in the demand for imports – including medicines and medical supplies and technology - tighter access to capital and falling remittances from family members working outside the country. In addition, there is less government revenue to finance...More
Obama Signs $1 Trillion Bill That Includes International Family Planning
Originally published on the IPPF/WHR blog.As 2011 came to a close, President Obama signed H.R. 2055, a “megabus” spending package of $1 trillion for fiscal year 2012, which includes support for international family planning and reproductive health programs. While the funding is largely the same as the previous budget, there was a slight decrease. A funding increase is sorely needed, but heavy lobbying by IPPF and the bill's success in the Senate wasn't enough to persuade the House, which remained opposed and wanted deeper cuts. The compromise among the two was to maintain fairly level funding.The State Department and foreign operations bill...More
Home: From Displacement Camps to Community in Haiti
By Alexis Erkert and Beverly BellJanuary 4, 2012 As 2012 begins, a growing movement of displaced people and their allies in Haiti is actively claiming the right to housing, which is recognized by both the Haitian constitution and international treaties to which Haiti is signatory.Haitians displaced by the earthquake two years ago face many crises, but perhaps none worse than ongoing homelessness. One of the 520,000 people still living in displacement camps, [i] Dieula Croissey describes conditions where she lives in Cité Soleil: “We’re living in insecurity, our lives are threatened, our daughters are used.” In addition to insecurity and...More
Is Russian Winter Turning Into Spring?
Russia cannot be understood with the mind Or measured with a common yardstick, She has a peculiar character- In Russia, one can only believe. Thus wrote Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev (1803-1873) considered one of the last three great Romantic poets in Russia. Perhaps Prime Minister Vladimir Putin should have remembered those words, when he dismissed the reaction of the Russian people to the last parliamentarian elections in the country, which the people widely considered to have been rigged. Although Russia under Mr. Putin, and his designated successor Medvedev, has achieved progress in several areas –incomes were raised, there were more consumer...More
What Drives Barack Obama?
Perhaps one of the most important questions in the United States now is who the real Barack Obama is, and what can we expect from him from now on, as we move towards next year's presidential elections facing unrelenting opposition of the Republicans in Congress. Many people, disillusioned with the Obama administration, insist on the little enforcement of his campaign promises and on his lack of principles. No one can speak of the achievements or failures of President Obama, however, without mentioning the factors and groups that brought him to power and which continue to influence his actions. Perhaps the...More
Going Green: 12 Simple Steps for 2012
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet. As we head into 2012, many of us will be resolving to lose those few extra pounds, save more money, or spend a few more hours with our families and friends. But there are also some resolutions we can make to make our lives a little greener. Each of us, especially in the United States, can make a commitment to reducing our environmental impacts. • Here are 12 simple steps that you can take be more green in the new year. (Photo credit: Julie Carney, Gardens for Health International) • The United...More
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