The INFO Project Blog

Which important research findings have not yet had an effect on family planning practice? Vote now!

Click Here to take survey

I was introduced to Dr. Ruotao Wang last month when I was traveling in China, and we had the chance to sit down and talk about his work in the field of HIV and STD control there. Dr. Wang is uniquely situated to appreciate the epidemic in China from a number of perspectives; after practicing clinical medicine for nine years, he received his PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and then in 2000, had the chance to study at Yale University, where he received a degree in Law. Although semi-retired now, he has worked in many capacities for the National Center for HIV and STD control at the Chinese CDC.

Posted by Ted Alcorn

For those who follow the HIFA2015 (Health Information for All by 2015) Listserv, there has been an interesting thread on the future of information dissemination to and from health workers in developing countries.

Much of the discourse has been about the cost and effectiveness of print materials on one hand, and the difficulties of accessing the Internet and other electronic resources such as CD-ROMs on the other. Some of the posts have been about the way health workers absorb and communicate information with proponents and opponents of print and electronic formats airing their views.

Of course, as with most of these types of debates, the future path lies somewhere in the middle–printed reference materials, the Internet, e-forums, blogs, e-learning, e-books, etc., all have their place. The challenge will be to teach future generations of information seekers and information communicators to use all these vehicles to achieve their goals. Read the rest of this entry »

As featured in this month’s End Violence against Women newsletter, the video “Honor Killings and Suicides,” brings to light the major issue of honor killings as predicated, gender-specific murders, taking a look at the practice specifically within Turkish society today.

This short video speaks to the experiences of several Turkish women who have been literally threatened to death by their own families and in-laws. Many times these women are victims of sexual violence or accused of adultery, and are then terrorized with threats of murder by their own relatives in an effort to preserve family honor. Read the rest of this entry »