Category: Health & Wellness
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Gambia’s Supreme Court is considering whether a law protecting women and girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) is constitutional. The practice, common in Gambia, often involves forcibly restraining girls while parts of their genitals are cut, sometimes with the wound sewn shut. FGM constitutes torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under international human rights law. It…
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In the Kadjebi district in the Oti region of Ghana many adolescent girls face period poverty due to inadequate access to sanitary pads caused by low family income. In some communities, this lack of access previously exposed girls to risky coping mechanisms, including dependence on boys for financial support, sometimes leading to teenage pregnancies. To…
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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF, in partnership with the Government of Liberia’s Ministry of Education and supported by funding from the Government of Ireland International Development Programme, have officially launched and installed Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Pad Banks in public schools across Liberia. Liberia’s Minister of Education, Jarso M. Jallah, served as…
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Majorities say schools should teach sex education and schoolgirls who get pregnant should be allowed to continue their education. Kenya has taken significant steps to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Article 43(1) of the Constitution guarantees the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including reproductive health, while the National Reproductive…
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A new study has revealed alarmingly high levels of depression, suicidal thoughts and substance use among young women living in Kampala’s urban slums, exposing what researchers describe as a largely hidden public health crisis. The study, conducted under the TOPOWA Project and published in the journal BMC Public Health, assessed the mental health of 300…
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More than 400 women from Kasangati and surrounding areas have received hands-on financial literacy training aimed at boosting economic empowerment, improving livelihoods, and fostering social harmony. The initiative was spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Bulindo and Rotary Club of Kitukutwe, in partnership with Old Mutual Uganda and Centenary Bank, and held at Kasangati Health…
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Guest column By Hon. Dr James Nyikal, Dr. Margaret Lubaale, and Prof Anne-Beatrice Kihara For women in labour across Kenya, reaching a health facility, finding skilled health workers, and affording care can be a matter of life and death. These challenges are not rare, but daily realities for many families. Every year on 12 December,…
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ZANZIBAR is facing a troubling rise in poor nutrition among pregnant women and children, the Director of Preventive Services and Health Education in the Ministry of Health, Dr Salim Slim, has warned. Speaking at the launch of a community health campaign in Kidimni, Central District, Unguja, Dr Slim said malnutrition has become a major driver…
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South Africa has classified violence against women a national disaster following an online campaign culminating in countrywide protests on Friday. Women were urged to “withdraw from the economy for one day”, and lie down for 15 minutes at 12:00 local time (10:00 GMT) in honour of the 15 females who are murdered in the country…
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Nadra Mohamed Ahmed was seven months pregnant when she fled violence in her hometown of El-Fasher in Sudan. After a nearly 40 kilometres walk across unsafe roads with her two children, she found safe transportation to a shelter across the country. “By the time I arrived here, I had lost a lot of blood,” said Ahmed from her…
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