Dear HIFA colleagues,
The latest issue of the WHO Bulletin has just been published in the last few minutes and the lead article reflects on 'Three decades of progress and setbacks since the first international conference on population and development'.
Citation, extracts and a comment from me below.
CITATION: Bull World Health Organ. 2024 Apr 1; 102(4): 226–226A.
Published online 2024 doi: 10.2471/BLT.24.291654
Three decades of progress and setbacks since the first international conference on population and development
Manjulaa Narasimhan et al.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10976866/?report=classic
'Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights across the life course encompass the full spectrum of related services, from safeguarding girls from harmful traditional practices to providing comprehensive sexuality education that equips young people with essential knowledge for navigating relationships free from stigma, discrimination, violence and coercion. These rights also include supporting menstrual health; contraception and fertility care; prevention, management and treatment of sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections; prevention of unsafe abortion; respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth; and sexual health and well-being beyond reproductive years.'
'Effective integration of sexual and reproductive health in primary health care includes ensuring that... competent health workers are available, supported by regulatory mechanisms for prescribing, and with a defined scope of practice for various sexual and reproductive health services; and evidence-based clinical guidelines are implemented consistently.'
COMMENT (NPW): SDG Target 3.7 on Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is the *only* SDG target that recognises the importance of access to reliable healthcare information. What can we do to ensure that the new 2030 targets will include access to reliable healthcare information across *all* areas of health care.
One important question is: How was the SRH community able to get information recognised into the current target 3.7? Understanding how this was achieved could help us to advocate for wider adoption.
I look forward to your comments and suggestions.
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
