Masimba Biriwasha is a children's writer, poet, playwright, journalist, social activitist and publisher. He has experience working in HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe and Thailand. He is currently working for Health & Development Networks, an HIV/AIDS advocacy organization based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Only HIV and syphilis are screened during antenatal care in Cameroon, despite the fact that HIV is known to be associated with other sexually transmitted infections.
In its purest essence, religion seeks to promote justice, dignity and compassion. These core values can be harnessed in the effort to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Due to traditional beliefs about male virility, many men worldwide shun vasectomy, reducing the efficacy of this reliable method of contraception.
In Thailand, innovative HIV prevention advocates engage the community by emphasizing sexual diversity, conducting religious outreach, and involving community members in research.
Both young men and young women in Zambia are under pressure to engage in multiple sexual relationships. For men, it’s due to norms of masculinity, and for women, it’s due to economic hardship.
In Jamaica, as in many parts of the world, HIV and AIDS create a specter of fear and persecution leading to stigma, discrimination and, for many, the concealment of the disease.
African women giving birth are often affected by low incomes and and high stress levels, increasing the likelihood of onset of postpartum depression.
To respond effectively to the epidemics of AIDS and TB around the world, a strategy for communicating messages that influence individual behavior change, community attitudes and socio-political dynamics is critical.
Tuberculosis has a major impact on women’s reproductive health and the health of their children, but there is little attention to women’s vulnerability in the current media blitz about a resurgent TB internationally, and in particular, in sub-Saharan Africa.
Menstruation is perhaps one of the most ordinary individual female experiences but, in sub-Saharan Africa, the experience often impacts society as a whole negatively due to the absence of clean water, sanitation, and products to cope with menstrual flow.
