Dear All,

Welcome to the second issue of the APSRHM e-newsletter which now has over 30 subscribers from various areas in sexual and reproductive health.

To further enhance the network APSRHM would appreciate current subscribers circulating this e-newsletter to colleagues & contacts throughout the region inviting them to join this unique network.

We would also like to put out a call for individual contributions for the next e-newsletter due at the end of May. We want APSRHM to be an interactive platform for information sharing with substantial member generated information and articles.

We are particularly looking for recent published articles, conference presentations, commentary on issues, reviews of conferences attended, up coming courses or events.

This is a great chance to publicise your work or events to a growing audience of international academics and practitioners in the sexual and reproductive health field.

Any contributions can be emailed to apsrhm@arha.org.au

CALLS FOR PAPERS

Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health Health Special Edition
"Health Security and Disaster Management"
This Special Issue of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health aims to draw together a body of work to present a more complete picture of health security and disaster management in the Region.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
- Community vulnerability and resilience in the face of man-made or natural disasters
- Interface between violent political conflict, disasters, and poverty
- Human rights challenges in the face of significant threats of disease or violence
- Development cooperation in fragile and conflict-affected states
- Health promotion in relation to major disasters
- Preparing health systems for disasters; the role of health professionals in disaster preparedness, mitigation and response
- Any other engaging and relevant topic
Instructions for authors can be found on the website.
Deadline: 16 June, 2006

NEW PUBLICATIONS

The links posted below are direct links to the article. Please check with your database provider or institution to ensure you have copy right access to the journal.

A gendered response to HIV/AIDS in South Asia and the Pacific: insights from the pandemic in Africa
Author: Nath, Madhu Bala
Source: Gender and Development, Volume 14, Number 1, March 2006, pp. 11-22(12)
Abstract: HIV/AIDS can no longer be viewed as a pandemic. It is in fact emerging as multiple epidemics. These epidemics vary from country to country, region to region and continent to continent. As a body of knowledge develops on HIV/AIDS and responses to it in sub-Saharan Africa, care is necessary when considering the experience of HIV/AIDS in other regions. This article considers similarities and differences between the epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia and the Pacific, and makes suggestions for policymakers.

Helping Public Sector Health Systems Innovate: The Strategic Approach to Strengthening Reproductive Health Policies and Programs
Authors: Peter Fajans, MD, MPH, Ruth Simmons, PhD and Laura Ghiron, MPH
Source: American Journal of Public Health March 2006, Vol 96, No. 3
Public sector health systems that provide services to poor and marginalised populations in developing countries face great challenges. Change associated with health sector reform and structural adjustment often leaves these already-strained institutions with fewer resources and insufficient capacity to relieve health burdens. The Strategic Approach to Strengthening Reproductive Health Policies and Programs is a methodological innovation developed by the World Health Organization and its partners to help countries identify and prioritize their reproductive health service needs, test appropriate interventions, and scale up successful innovations to a subnational or national level. The participatory, interdisciplinary, and country-owned process can set in motion much-needed change.

Communicating contraceptive effectiveness: A randomized controlled trial to inform a World Health Organization family planning handbook
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology - 19 April 2006
Objective: The objective of the study was to compare 3 different approaches for increasing clients' understanding of contraceptive effectiveness.
Conclusion: Only with accurate understanding of pregnancy risk can clients make informed choices. Our results have already informed a global handbook for family planning providers to use the chart ranking contraceptive methods on a continuum.

NEW REPORT

Reproductive health commodity security (RHCS) country case studies synthesis: Cambodia, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia
March 2006
This report was produced by the Health Resource Centre on behalf of the
Department for International Development (UK).
Secure and sustained access to quality and affordable commodity supplies is a critical driver of reproductive and sexual health, as it is for child health and
communicable disease treatment and prevention. Improved access to these
commodities is essential for the success of wider efforts to scale up health services, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

UPCOMING COURSES

Gender Health in the Asia Pacific Region: Implementing Best Practice in Sexual and Reproductive Health
Sydney, Australia, 28-30 September 2006.
Applications considered now, with limited grants available for regional participants.
To register your interest or for more information please contact:
Dr Alison Rutherford on 61 2 9385 2510 a.rutherford@unsw.edu.au or
Dr Anna Whelan at a.Whelan@unsw.edu.au.
School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW

Health of Women & Children in Developing Countries
Burnett Institute Melbourne 13 - 20 June 2006
Coordinator: Dr Wendy Holmes
Synopsis: This intensive six day course is suitable for individuals working in international health, in development organizations or contemplating work overseas in community development and/or health programs. This course provides an overview of women and children’s health in developing countries, from a life-cycle perspective, including current health status of women and children, and policy trends. Topics covered include: maternal and neonatal health; reproductive health; gender analysis; nutrition; children’s rights and protection issues; and ageing.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Conference on ''Gender, Child Survival and HIV/AIDS: From Evidence to Policy''
York University, Toronto, Canada 7-9 May
The conference aims for a critical examination of: the role of gender in health research, how evidence is used (or not used) to direct policy relevant to women’s health, infant health, and HIV/AIDS, social science research and the experience of women and more. There is also a specific panel/workshop on Reproductive Health and Human Rights.
Abstract deadline has passed but for those interested in attending, delegate registration is still open.

IAPAC Annual North American Sessions 2006
Chicago, United States  11 to 12 May
The annual IAPAC North American Sessions is a unique symposium that allows HIV-treating healthcare professionals to learn from each other while advancing HIV/AIDS medicine toward solutions to on-going clinical questions. Four topics are covered in four different Sessions:
Implications of a Decade of HAART
Navigating ARV Drug Resistance
Sociobehavioral Aspects of HIV Care
Emerging Issues in HIV CareEnquiries

33rd International Conference on Global Health
May 30-June 2 Washington D.C, USA
Run by the Global Health Council there are numerous reproductive health sessions examining issues from policy, adolescent issues and strategies for service delivery.
Registration to attend the conference is open see website for details.

WIDE Annual Conference - "What ‘state’ are we in? Women’s lives, changing States and expanding Markets"
Warsaw, Poland June 1-3 2006
The WIDE Annual Conference website has detailed information about the conference background, agenda, the possibilities of participation etc. Its aim is to initiate a discussion between women from East, North and South based on their experience and expectations regarding states and markets. The conference will start with a Capacity Building Day, followed by a two-day international conference.The conference is open to all organizations and individuals interested in its topic.

International Conference on Gender in East and Southeast Asia
Bangkok, Thailand June 21-22
Run by the Women's Action & Resource Initiative (WARI) who invite participants, abstracts or panel proposals.
The conference will deal with both the practical and theoretical aspects of gender. For practical aspects (policy-oriented application of gender in development projects/programs), papers may deal with any development sector, e.g., education, law, politics, economy, health and natural resources.

XVI International AIDS Conference
Toronto, Canada 13-18 August
Abstracts deadlines have closed for the conference but online registration is still open to attend the conference. Please see their website for further details.
Reproductive Health is examined at the conference under Track D: Social, Behavioural and Economic Science and microbicides also features as a topic at the conference for those interested.

RECENT CONFERENCE

RESOURCES

World Contraceptive Use 2005
The United Nations Population Division is pleased to announce the release of a database entitled "World Contraceptive Use 2005". This database contains the most recent estimates of contraceptive prevalence (available as of 1 October 2005), measured as the percentage of women currently using contraception among those of reproductive age who are married or in union.  Prevalence is presented by method of contraception for individual countries as well as aggregates to the world, the more and less developed regions and the major areas.  The database also includes data on trends in contraceptive prevalence for countries with information between 1990 and 2004.  The data are in MS Excel format and can be ordered on the website for download.

Australian Development Gateway - Reproductive Health Resource
A resource for details about sexual health training courses, reports with details of research results and programs that promote sexual health in Asia Pacific countries.
The gateway has a specific focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

NEWS

Philippines: Industrial Hazards Take Toll on Reproductive Health -- Study
May 1 Philippine Daily Inquirer

USAID Stops Aid to Successful Indonesian Family Planning Group
April 25 Antara News

Reproductive Health Campaign Makes a Difference in Chu Mo
April 20 Vietnam News Service

ABOUT THE NETWORK

The aim of  the network is to increase information sharing and discussion in the area of sexual and reproductive health in both Australia and the broader Asia Pacific region.

APSRHM e-newsletter provides information on upcoming conferences, reminds participants of calls for papers, posts recently published papers or links to papers and provides a platform for interaction.

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