From unplanned pregnancy and backstreet abortions to stigma of contraceptives, then moral liberalism
Mary Pelton started taking the pill in 1969. Back then it was still fairly new and something she describes as “an absolute breakthrough.” In upper sixth form at the time, the then-teenager had been prescribed it by her general practitioner (GP) as treatment for irregular periods. Now 70, Mary recalls...
‘Married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship’ case put US on the spot
A highly significant 2014 case granted asylum to a Guatemalan woman, whose abusive husband had pursued her around the country, beating her on the grounds that she was part of the particular social group: “married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship.” The case was held up...
Confirmed resistance to front-line malaria drugs in Africa, may put a damper on rising vaccine hopes
Scientists have confirmed that malaria parasites in Africa have developed resistance to a key family of drugs used to protect against them. “We’ve all been expecting and dreading this for quite some time,” says Leann Tilley, a biochemist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who researches the molecular basis...
How tough maritime laws, establishment of Coast Guards played a role in reducing piracy in African seas
The seas off West Africa, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, have been a hotspot for increasingly violent maritime crime, particularly piracy. In 2020, 136 seafarers were abducted in 27 incidents in the Gulf of Guinea and according to Dryad Global, the attacks are becoming increasingly violent as the use...
Why it’s very difficult for victims of gender-based violence to get protection in US asylum set up
Tens of thousands of women from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, collectively known as the Northern Triangle of Central America, have left their homes to try to reach the United States in recent years. Many are fleeing rampant gender-based violence. But those who are able to enter the US, often...
Loss of indigenous language means loss of exclusive knowledge about medicinal plants – studies
A study at the University of Zurich in Switzerland shows that a large proportion of existing medicinal plant knowledge is linked to threatened Indigenous languages. In a regional study on the Amazon, New Guinea and North America, researchers concluded that 75 per cent of medicinal plant uses are known in...
DR Congo government slow response to agony of Mt Nyiragongo volcano IDPs frustrating Aid agencies
After DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi’s visit to Goma, the government pledged to provide 1,000 temporary shelters, to be constructed by the military at a camp called Kanyarucinya. The International Federation of the Red Cross agreed to contribute 500 additional structures at another site, Kibati. Some aid workers who were...
Plight of Congo volcano IDPs: Banished by Mt Nyiragongo eruption, forsaken by government
Editor’s note: This is the first of two stories on the aftermath of the May volcanic eruption in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The New Humanitarian spent three weeks interviewing displaced people, aid workers, and employees at a local observatory tasked with monitoring the volatile Mount Nyiragongo. After one of...
Covid vaccine boosters: Scientists differ on whether a third shot will lock out new infections
Older Israelis who have received a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine are much less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 or to develop severe Covid-19 than are those who have had only two jabs, according to a highly anticipated study published on September 15. The standard regimen for messenger...
Wildlife-human conflicts: Man wrecked animal kingdoms, now wildlife reclaiming lost homes in urban streets
As humans encroach on the habitat of wild animals, is it any surprise that they advance upon ours? On September 8, 1488, the French fiefdom of Beaujeu issued an unusual order. Curates were charged with warning slugs three times “to cease from vexing the people by corroding and consuming the...
