The INFO Project Blog

A recent article our fellow Program Specialist Sara Mazursky found when searching for news for the upcoming Pop Reporter e-zine struck her attention.   Apparently, due in part to a declining population, Buddhist groups in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir (see map) have called for an immediate halt to family planning. Read the rest of this entry »

In this IBN Live news segment highlighting the viral popularity of the so-called “Andhra condom song,” a New Delhi correspondent expresses hope that the exuberant South Indian-style marketing campaign for contraception is doing some good. The video on YouTube has been viewed over 600,000 times, and has received comments from users from all over the world, one who expressed surprise that they “had condoms in india.”

Thanks to 16 year-old television star Jamie Lynn Spears’s pregnancy, and the new movie Juno, teen sex has been appearing in chastising headlines of late. In many less developed countries, teen pregnancy is often the rule, not the exception. However the vast majority of sexual activity takes place within marriage-girls can´t Just Say No.

Early marriage–also referred to as child marriage, because the brides in countries like India and Ethiopia are as young as 5 years old–is a harmful traditional practice that can be emotionally devastating. In unstable and impoverished Afghanistan child brides are married to much older men. In the photo at right by Stephanie Sinclair, which was the UNICEF photo of 2007, a 40 year-old man sits next to his 11 year-old bride. Read the rest of this entry »

According to an article published on the BBC today , the brain drain in Africa is happening faster than previously thought. A new study by the Center for Global Development in Washington says the loss of doctors and nurses follows political conflict and economic stagnation.

Several countries, like Angola and Mozambique, have more doctors working in a single foreign country than at home.
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Indian Railways is considering offering fare concessions to individuals living with HIV/AIDS which would help them to travel to centers providing antiretroviral drugs.   Indian Railways already offers large concessions to individuals with other chronic diseases such as tuberculosis and heart and kidney disease.   Read the rest of this entry »