Posts Tagged public health

Take Action: Ban the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution in New York

Despite the fact that condoms are widely held as essential tools in HIV and STI prevention – as well as being a very effective non-prescription method of birth control – just carrying condoms could get you arrested.

That’s right: As we’ve covered before, in New York and other places in the United States, condoms are routinely used by the police as evidence that the folks they are stopping are engaging in prostitution. If this seems impossibly nonsensical to you, it’s because it makes no sense, but unfortunately for everyone common sense is not the main driver of public policy. 

Despite the fact that condoms are widely held as essential tools in HIV and STI prevention – as well as being a very effective non-prescription method of birth control – just carrying condoms could get you arrested.

That’s ...

Unsafe abortions have killed 1 million and injured 100 million in the last two decades

And only legalizing abortion — everywhere — will change that. That’s why lawmakers and public health leaders from over 30 countries have released a new declaration calling for the world’s nations to repeal all criminal abortion laws and “make safe, legal abortion universally available and accessible to all women regardless of age, income, or where they live.”

And only legalizing abortion — everywhere — will change that. That’s why lawmakers and public health leaders from over 30 countries have released a new declaration calling for the world’s nations to 

Remembering Dr. Stephen Levin

Saying someone is a hero and a lifesaver, lauding their invaluable and extraordinary contributions to the world, can often be hyperbole. But in the case of Dr. Stephen Levin (Oct. 16, 1941- February 8, 2012) who fought for his patients’ lives as a physician and activist, and fought for change on both a cellular and a political  level, it’s simply a statement of fact.

I first met Steve Levin at the New York City office of Kinderland, a progressive summer camp focused on social justice. I grew up going to Kinderland, and was there for my interview to be a Counselor in Training (CIT). Steve was there, waiting for his own daughter — who had never been to Kinderland — to finish ...

Saying someone is a hero and a lifesaver, lauding their invaluable and extraordinary contributions to the world, can often be hyperbole. But in the case of Dr. Stephen Levin (Oct. 16, 1941- February 8, 2012) who fought for his ...

Public health crusaders: Japanese women take the capital

Hundreds of Japanese women have been holding a sit in on the steps of the  of the Japanese capital demanding  that their government provide better relief for some 30,000 children exposed to nuclear radiation by the Fukushima meltdown.

“Official recovery policy focuses on decontamination rather than protecting the health of those most vulnerable – children and pregnant women,” activist Aileen Mioko Smith, of Green Action Japan, told the Inter Press Service.

She continued, “Our meetings with officials to force faster evacuation programmes for high-risk groups are only met with promises to clear radioactive waste. This is totally irresponsible.”

On Wednesday, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) admitted that one of the Fukushima reactors showed ...

Hundreds of Japanese women have been holding a sit in on the steps of the  of the Japanese capital demanding  that their government provide better relief for some 30,000 children exposed to nuclear radiation by ...

New study: Life expectancy for women has decreased in parts of U.S.

Change in life expectancy for women in U.S. counties from 1987 to 2007

Go here for a larger version of the map. Red areas indicate counties where life expectancy has decreased. (Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington)

That right there is an astounding map. Since basically forever, life expectancy in the U.S. has increased with each passing generation. But a new study found that while that trend has held steady nationally over the last two decades, for women in 313 U.S. counties, life expectancy has actually declined during that time.

That–like so many other health disparities in the U.S.–should be a national embarrassment. According to the study, the U.S. ...

Change in life expectancy for women in U.S. counties from 1987 to 2007

Go here for a larger version of the map. Red areas indicate counties where life expectancy has decreased. (Source: Institute ...

No Woman, No Cry

As Mother’s Day approaches, it’s critical to think about the ways in which birth experiences are still so varied, and often so dangerous, for women around the world. Christy Turlington Burns has just created a great primer on the issue, which has been screened at various locations through out the U.S., but will premier on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network on Saturday May 7th 2011, at 9:30 pm (ET/PT). Here’s the trailer:

I had the pleasure of seeing it on Monday night at the Paley Center for Media, along with a Q&A with Christy, the amazing Pat Mitchell, and a panel of experts in the field. The film was graceful and simple in its execution–an hour of stories from women in ...

As Mother’s Day approaches, it’s critical to think about the ways in which birth experiences are still so varied, and often so dangerous, for women around the world. Christy Turlington Burns has just created a great primer ...

No Woman, No Cry

As Mother’s Day approaches, it’s critical to think about the ways in which birth experiences are still so varied, and often so dangerous, for women around the world. Christy Turlington Burns has just created a great primer on the issue, which has been screened at various locations through out the U.S., but will premier on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network on Saturday May 7th 2011, at 9:30 pm (ET/PT). Here’s the trailer:

I had the pleasure of seeing it on Monday night at the Paley Center for Media, along with a Q&A with Christy, the amazing Pat Mitchell, and a panel of experts in the field. The film was graceful and simple in its execution–an hour of stories from women in ...

As Mother’s Day approaches, it’s critical to think about the ways in which birth experiences are still so varied, and often so dangerous, for women around the world. Christy Turlington Burns has just created a great primer ...

Beyond “Prevention vs. Treatment”

Aids PSA Topsy from Human Music & Sound Design on Vimeo.

Check out this breathtaking PSA for the Topsy AIDS foundation. The video documents an HIV+ woman named Selinah who agreed to be filmed every day for 90 days. In the video, Selinah is shown laying in bed looking sicker and sicker, but in fact the footage is being showed in reverse, and Selinah’s condition has been actually been drastically improving after receiving ARV treatment from a nurse associated with the Topsy AIDS foundation. The video is meant to demonstrate the effect that a treatment program can have on those battling the advanced effects of HIV/AIDS. The makers of the video go on to point out that ...

Aids PSA Topsy from Human Music & Sound Design on Vimeo.

Check out this breathtaking PSA for the Topsy AIDS foundation. The video documents an HIV+ woman named Selinah who agreed to be filmed every ...