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class="left"> <h2 class="widgettitle">Authors</h2> <ul> <li class="widget widget_authors"> <ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=4" title="Posts by Bill Butz">Bill Butz</a> (7)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=6" title="Posts by Carl Haub">Carl Haub</a> (5)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=11" title="Posts by Charlie Teller">Charlie Teller</a> (6)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=19" title="Posts by Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs">Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=14" title="Posts by Deborah Mesce">Deborah Mesce</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=10" title="Posts by Eric Zuehlke">Eric Zuehlke</a> (3)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=20" title="Posts by Farzaneh Roudi">Farzaneh Roudi</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=13" title="Posts by Jason Bremner">Jason Bremner</a> (6)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=16" title="Posts by Jay Gribble">Jay Gribble</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=18" title="Posts by Karin Ringheim">Karin Ringheim</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=17" title="Posts by Marissa Yeakey">Marissa Yeakey</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=12" title="Posts by Mark Mather">Mark Mather</a> (5)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=21" title="Posts by Nadwa Mossaad">Nadwa Mossaad</a> (1)</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?author=15" title="Posts by Victoria Ebin">Victoria Ebin</a> (2)</li></ul> </li> </ul> <ul> <li id="categories-1" class="widget widget_categories"><h2 class="widgettitle">Topics</h2> <ul> <li class="cat-item cat-item-1"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=1" title="blog on the PRB topic: Aging">Aging</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-3"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=3" title="Blog on the PRB topic- Education">Education</a> (2) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-4"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=4" title="Blog on the PRB topic of Environment">Environment</a> (9) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-5"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=5" title="Blog on the PRB topic of Gender">Gender</a> (3) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-6"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=6" title="Blog on the PRB topic of HIV/AIDS">HIV/AIDS</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-7"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=7" title="Blog on the PRB Topic of Immigration/Migration">Immigration/Migration</a> (2) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-8"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=8" title="Blog on the topic of Income/Poverty">Income/Poverty</a> (5) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-9"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=9" title="Blog on the topic of Marriage Family">Marriage/Family</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-10"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=10" title="Blog about the topic of Population basics">Population Basics</a> (15) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-31"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts filed under PRB News">PRB News</a> (18) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-12 current-cat"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="Blog on the topic of reproductive health ">Reproductive Health</a> (11) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-13"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=13" title="Blog on the topic of Youth">Youth</a> (6) </li> </ul> </li> <li id="tag_cloud" class="widget widget_tag_cloud"><h2 class="widgettitle">Tags</h2> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=burkina-faso" class="tag-link-61" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Burkina Faso</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=census" class="tag-link-39" title="7 topics" style="font-size: 16.4pt;">census</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=cities" class="tag-link-68" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">cities</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=climate-change" class="tag-link-69" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">climate change</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=contraception" class="tag-link-53" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">contraception</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=education" class="tag-link-3" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Education</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=engage" class="tag-link-55" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">ENGAGE</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=environment" class="tag-link-4" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Environment</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=ethiopia" class="tag-link-41" title="4 topics" style="font-size: 12.2pt;">Ethiopia</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=europe" class="tag-link-46" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Europe</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=evaluation" class="tag-link-48" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.4pt;">evaluation</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=family-planning" class="tag-link-27" title="9 topics" style="font-size: 19.2pt;">family planning</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=fertility" class="tag-link-45" title="3 topics" style="font-size: 10.8pt;">fertility</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=food" class="tag-link-32" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.4pt;">food</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=health-insurance" class="tag-link-72" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">health insurance</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=hivaids" class="tag-link-6" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">HIV/AIDS</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=india" class="tag-link-58" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.4pt;">India</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=iran" class="tag-link-65" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Iran</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=journalism" class="tag-link-42" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.4pt;">journalism</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=kenya" class="tag-link-54" title="7 topics" style="font-size: 16.4pt;">Kenya</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=mali" class="tag-link-62" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Mali</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=malnutrition" class="tag-link-33" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.4pt;">malnutrition</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=media" class="tag-link-59" title="7 topics" style="font-size: 16.4pt;">media</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=migrants" class="tag-link-36" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">migrants</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=nano" class="tag-link-63" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Nano</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=pakistan" class="tag-link-52" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Pakistan</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=photos" class="tag-link-51" title="3 topics" style="font-size: 10.8pt;">photos</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=policy" class="tag-link-30" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">policy</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=population-growth" class="tag-link-38" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">population growth</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=poverty" class="tag-link-29" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">poverty</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=prb-in-the-field" class="tag-link-50" title="11 topics" style="font-size: 22pt;">PRB in the field</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=recession" class="tag-link-67" title="3 topics" style="font-size: 10.8pt;">recession</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=rwanda" class="tag-link-56" title="2 topics" style="font-size: 9.4pt;">Rwanda</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=senegal" class="tag-link-60" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Senegal</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=statistics" class="tag-link-44" title="4 topics" style="font-size: 12.2pt;">statistics</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=tanzania" class="tag-link-49" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">tanzania</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=transportation" class="tag-link-64" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">transportation</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=turkey" class="tag-link-57" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Turkey</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=us" class="tag-link-40" title="8 topics" style="font-size: 17.8pt;">U.S.</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=unemployment" class="tag-link-66" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">Unemployment</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=urbanization" class="tag-link-70" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">urbanization</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=video" class="tag-link-37" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">video</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=water" class="tag-link-71" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">water</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?tag=women" class="tag-link-43" title="1 topics" style="font-size: 8pt;">women</a></li> <li id="recent-posts" class="widget widget_recent_entries"> <h2 class="widgettitle">Recent Posts</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=75">New Data on U.S. Health Insurance Coverage </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=74">New Blog on the U.S. 2010 Census </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=73">World Water Week and the Challenges of the Future </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=72">World Population Data Sheet 2009 - 7 Billion People by 2011 </a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=71">Fertility Rise for Richest and Climate Change Revisited </a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="archives" class="widget widget_archives"><h2 class="widgettitle">Archives</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?m=200909" title="September 2009">September 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Blog</h2> <div class="textwidget"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?page_id=2">The PRB blog is....</a> </div> </li> <li id="recent-comments" class="widget widget_recent_comments"> <h2 class="widgettitle">Recent Comments</h2> <ul id="recentcomments"><li class="recentcomments">Mark Lauer on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=71#comment-473">Fertility Rise for Richest and Climate Change Revisited</a></li><li class="recentcomments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://alouettelulu.com/" rel="external nofollow">Anna Gallés</a> on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=71#comment-457">Fertility Rise for Richest and Climate Change Revisited</a></li><li class="recentcomments">Craig H on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-442">“Like a Wave on Top of a Tsunami”: Have the Food Price and Financial Crises Increased 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?feed=rss2" title="Syndicate this site using RSS 2.0">Entries <abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?feed=comments-rss2" title="The latest comments to all posts in RSS">Comments <abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://wordpress.org/" title="Powered by WordPress, state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform.">WordPress.org</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="middle"> <div id="post-62"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=62" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: Hope is a School in Kajiado, Kenya">PRB in the Field: Hope is a School in Kajiado, Kenya</a></h2> <p><small>May 12th, 2009 Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=13" title="View all posts in Youth" rel="category">Youth</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=62#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: Hope is a School in Kajiado, Kenya">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><em>by Charlotte Feldman-Jacobs,</em> <em>program director, Gender</em></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Last week, I visited ground zero of hope and it wasn’t in Washington, London, or Geneva. It was 60 kilometers outside of Nairobi, in a small town called Kajiado.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">With 15 journalists in a workshop funded by USAID and organized by PRB, I went to the AIC Girls’ Primary School and Rescue Center and although we were hot, dusty, and grumpy from the traffic jams and rough roads when we arrived, we left hopeful and inspired.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">While we were there we heard from the headmaster, Nicholas Muniu, and a dedicated staff member named Catherine that change is happening: that girls named Emily and Beatrice were among the girls who had come to the school escaping from certain early marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM); that among the 706 girls now at the school, 217 were rescued from early marriage and FGM; that some were brought by uncles, fathers, and mothers who wanted something better for these daughters. Even more amazing, many came by themselves.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">The school began in 1959 with 20 girls and now has more than 700, with a waiting list of girls who want to come. While some of the girls were only rescued after they had already been subjected to FGM or early marriages, the school is now rescuing many before this happens. While the school was formerly viewed with suspicion—and even met with spear-carrying husbands and fathers—the school is gaining respect quickly. The graduates of Kajiado graduate with top academic skills, according to headmaster Muniu. And more importantly, the thinking among chiefs in the region has changed dramatically. “Chiefs now accept that educating girls is more important than getting two cows for them in early marriages,” Muniu says.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">It quickly becomes apparent that the school, which runs through grade 8, is more than a shelter for these girls, it’s a doorway to a brighter future. While customs and laws change slowly in this part of the world, these girls quickly grasp that they can be anything they want. They study hard, they live without many of the amenities expected in the West, they sometimes say goodbye forever to families who would force them to undergo old customs and harmful traditional practices. But they have dreams, these girls. When asked what they want to be, they answer doctors and lawyers and pilots. Though they may never have been on an airplane, I know that some day they will be. For this school has given them wings to fly.</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=62&title=PRB in the Field: Hope is a School in Kajiado, Kenya" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-63"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=63" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: The Rescue Center">PRB in the Field: The Rescue Center</a></h2> <p><small>May 1st, 2009 Administrator</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=13" title="View all posts in Youth" rel="category">Youth</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=63#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: The Rescue Center">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Yordanos Goushe, senior reporter, Ethiopia Radio TV Agency</em></p> <p>The most effective way of saving young girls from FGM, rape, and early marriage is strengthening the optional center of care that functions within the society. Women in the society remain the vanguard to take actions against the impairing conditions for young girls through a most supporting structure. </p> <p>On Saturday, April 25, 2009 we Women’s Edition journalists visited the Kajiado AIC Rescue Center, a center that was created by people who were committed to educating young girls. The girls in the center have stories to tell about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early marriage, and rape. These stories make you wonder how such things are done by a parent to his/her own offspring in the name of culture. However, there are also beautiful and rare stories of hope. If we ask the young girls in the rescue center, they will tell us they want to be a lawyer, politician, public figure, and a journalist. </p> <p>Taking these and other difficulties of Kajiado girls into consideration, the AIC Rescue Center has taken the step of working with the chiefs, fathers, and mothers of the community. Now the chiefs are protecting the young girls who go back to their community for school break and fathers are bringing their daughters before the cutting is done to them.</p> <p>The AIC Rescue Center receives girls from all over Kenya, some travelling a long distance after being the victims of rape, others running away from home because they do not want to be cut. The center provides good education, food, and shelter for these young girls who have seen a lot at an early age. The center receives all of them with an open hand even if it has limited capacity; there is always room for one more young girl who comes to the rescue center to have another chance in life.</p> <p>There is a very important message which comes across from the AIC Rescue Center: there are young girls who are saying “no” to the cultural barriers in their communities and these girls need help, so it’s our duty to help them find a solution.</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=63&title=PRB in the Field: The Rescue Center" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-60"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=60" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: Family Planning Workshops for West African Journalists">PRB in the Field: Family Planning Workshops for West African Journalists</a></h2> <p><small>April 29th, 2009 Victoria Ebin</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=60#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: Family Planning Workshops for West African Journalists">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Victoria Ebin, news media coordinator</em></p> <p>PRB is carrying out three workshops on family planning for West African journalists between January and June of this year. The first workshop, held in Dakar in January, was for 16 print and broadcast journalists; the second, with 19 participants, took place in Ouagadougou in April; and the third workshop will be in Bamako in May. These workshops somewhat resemble a family reunion. They bring together print and broadcast journalists from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal that PRB has worked with for more than a decade. Back in the mid-1990s, many of the editors-in-chief of the current crop of participants were already senior journalists and were part of PRB’s long-running media training project, Pop’Mediafrique, that met regularly until 2005.</p> <p><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0xFFFFFF&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FPopulationReferenceBureau%2Falbumid%2F5330200419604685281%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" height="367" width="500" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124oe_/http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></p> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=60#more-60" class="more-link">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=60&title=PRB in the Field: Family Planning Workshops for West African Journalists" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-58"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=58" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 4">PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 4</a></h2> <p><small>April 24th, 2009 Administrator</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=58#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 4">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Chinyere Fred-Adegbulugbe, senior correspondent, The Punch, Lagos, Nigeria and member of PRB’s Women’s Edition</em></p> <p>The Women’s Edition training continued on Thursday with a field to a Marie Stopes centre in a Nairobian slum called Kanyemi. There are about 27 Marie Stopes centres throughout Kenya. Though small, the Kayemi centre is already making its presence known in the neighbourhood with the comprehensive reproductive services it offers which includes different family planning methods, pap smear, Voluntary Counselling and testing (VCT), and a host of others. A one-stop reproductive health shop, you might say.</p> <p>Records from the staff showed that Kenyan women and men are beginning to make the most profitable journey toward that point where they take their sexual and reproductive health seriously; about 15 women have come for tubal litigation in the centre this April and the month isn’t over yet!</p> <p>The afternoon saw the group back at Fairview hotel where Family Planning in the Africa was analysed using SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The general feeling was that where there is political will and government commitment in any country, many more people whether rich or poor would be able to access family planning services. While realising that there are indeed real threats to effective family planning programs, there is also the need to grab with both hands opportunities (wherever they are found) that could bring more positive results. Everyone seems to be on the same page here.</p> <p>The day ended with a dinner at the Carnivore. Did you say the Carnivore? Yes, the Carnivore and it was quite an experience. The most daring of the pack even got and actually ate crocodile meat and some Kenyan native dance steps. It was fun, fun fun!</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=58&title=PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 4" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-56"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=56" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 3 - What is Behind Not Using Condoms">PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 3 - What is Behind Not Using Condoms</a></h2> <p><small>April 22nd, 2009 Administrator</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=56#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 3 - What is Behind Not Using Condoms">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Ana Alpirez, editor-in-chief of el Periodico de Guatemala, and member of PRB’s Women’s Edition program.</em> </p> <p>Today I met Theresia, a teenage mother of a six-week old baby. She dropped out of school when she was 13, two years before she met her husband, who was 25 years old. This can be the same story around the world, but when she said that neither she nor her husband knew anything about family planning, I was surprised.</p> <p>For me, that was so difficult to believe. A 25-year-old adult ignores this? What is in the mind of a man when he is a teenager? What do teenage boys talk about? SEX. Can I believe that he never heard about a condom? Theresia maybe, but I do not. What is behind his statement is an expression of power, ignorance, and irresponsibility. He may dislike using the condom and behave as a cool man, but had he ever thought about what it really means to bring a child into the world?</p> <p>On the other hand, Theresia said that she dropped out of school because she didn’t like it. Today she is enjoying her maternal life, but tomorrow? Is there any way to make her understand that Jane (her baby) will live her same life if she doesn’t look for a change? But at least Theresia has learned, maybe a little bit late, what family planning is, but not too late.</p> <p>She is one of the 40 or so women each month who visit the Ruby Medical Centre near Nairobi through a voucher scheme that began in 2006 in three rural districts and two urban slums in Kenya.</p> <p>For a small fee, a poor woman can deliver her baby in the private medical center and receive a long-term family planning method such as implants, IUCD, or surgical sterilization. But first she has to apply for a voucher.</p> <p>When Theresia realized that she was pregnant, her sister-in-law helped her get a voucher, and she chose to attend Ruby Medical Centre because her mother recommended it and it was close to her home. This is where Theresia delivered her baby in March, and then received family planning services.</p> <p>Here in Kenya, everybody knows that the program has an impact on their people, but it will take more than five year to make the difference. Until this happens, the Kenyans will continue hearing stories as the one of Theresia, and for some men it will be easy to continue cheating his partner by saying they don’t know what a condom is.</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=56&title=PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 3 - What is Behind Not Using Condoms" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-55"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=55" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 2">PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 2</a></h2> <p><small>April 21st, 2009 Administrator</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=55#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 2">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Thato Ratsebe, PRB consultant</em></p> <p>Women’s Edition continued its second day of family planning and reproductive health training in Nairobi, Kenya by visiting the Population Council and Family Health International (FHI), and the government-owned Kenyatta National Hospital.</p> <p>Dr. Wilson Liambila of the Population Council led a discussion on Emergency Contraception and Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECPs). ECPs are safe and easy to use pills recommended for women and girls who have had unprotected sex and have a desire to prevent pregnancy. The 2003 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey indicates that close to half of births in the preceding five years were unwanted. Liambila clarified that ECPs are not to be used as a regular method of contraception. During the post-election strife in Kenya, women and girls were raped. ECPs therefore, are one of the important elements in post-rape care. According to Liambila, over 80 percent of ECP users are between 21 and 29 years old. He concluded by urging journalists to accurately educate the public on the importance of ECPs and other family planning methods. </p> <p>The importance of post-rape care services and service delivery is equally important. Dr. Nduku Kilonzo of the local Liverpool VCT, care, and treatment further discussed the importance of health care systems training and the involvement of civil society as overseers. Her organization helped trained 70 percent of Kenya’s HIV care and treatment counselors.</p> <p>The Women’s Edition group met with staff of the Kenyatta National Hospital, which houses the post-rape care center. A psychiatrist, counselors, and social workers discussed the many cases they dealt with in the upheaval after the elections. The center was established three years ago. From April 2006 to March 2009, they have attended to 962 patients. In all the cases, clients are advised to report cases if they can identify their perpetrators. They are also provided thorough counseling and other options to help them decide how to move forward. FHI Kenya highlighted that the long-term psychosocial effects of sexual assault are severe and influence the recovery of a survivor.</p> <p>Dr. Marsden Solomon of FHI concluded the day by emphasizing the need for improving family planning services. He said clients should be given counseling that will help them understand the different choices they have for family planning. He said pre-counseling provides clients with opportunities of “volunteering, choice and informed decision.”</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=55&title=PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 2" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-54"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=54" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 1">PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 1</a></h2> <p><small>April 20th, 2009 Administrator</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=54#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 1">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Florence Machio, a Kenyan freelance journalist and PRB consultant</em></p> <p>There is an African proverb that says “if you want what is underneath, you have to bend.” This speaks volumes when it comes to building political will for reproductive health services and programs here in Kenya.</p> <p>In Nairobi for their second seminar, Women’s Edition journalists spent a whole morning discussing how to build political will from the case study of Kenya and its Sexual Offences Act, which sets penalties for perpetrators of sexual violence. When leaders make comments like, “we will rape your wives” to silence those who are seeking to advance reproductive health issues, it indicates an uphill task ahead.</p> <p>Atsango Chesoni, a human rights, governance, and gender consultant who is also the vice chair of the committee of experts on Kenya’s constitutional review, explained why it took 15 years to build enough support for the bill to become law. Those were years filled with challenges, years in which journalists took the issue to heart by running campaigns through the media. The Act passed in 2006, but work remains in the justice system to implement the law in a way that benefits women. When it comes to reproductive health, the question for me has always been whether I am angry enough to do something about an issue. But getting the Sexual Offences Act passed taught me that it takes more than that. It also takes patience and goodwill.</p> <p>We spent the afternoon discussing contraceptive security and the absurdities that our governments put themselves in. For example, how do you explain a government allowing women to have free abortions but making it difficult for them to access contraceptives? What about insurance policies that will not cover contraceptives but are willing to cover Viagra? That’s the challenge of dealing with politicians but in the end, the Africa proverb still stands in Swahili: mtaka cha mvunguni sharti ainame (if you want what is underneath, you have to bend).</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=54&title=PRB in the Field: Women’s Edition Training in Kenya, Day 1" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-48"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=48" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: Building political will for family planning in Kenya">PRB in the Field: Building political will for family planning in Kenya</a></h2> <p><small>March 18th, 2009 Marissa Yeakey</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=48#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: Building political will for family planning in Kenya">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Marissa Yeakey, policy analyst</em></p> <p>At PRB, we’re always striving to find innovative ways to communicate data to broad audiences outside the world of public health; the ENGAGE Project is one example of these efforts. The ultimate goal of ENGAGE is to save women’s lives by raising awareness about high fertility and its costs and consequences. Our main activity is development of presentation materials that convey reproductive health data in new ways in order to inspire political will among policy and decision makers. In the worlds of academia and research, ‘inspiration’ and ‘data’ might regularly go hand in hand; when it comes to developing policy, however, achieving that synergy may be far more complex. To guide our efforts, therefore, we’ve assembled Task Forces of the best local experts in programs, research, and policy.</p> <p>I came to Kenya with an ENGAGE colleague for the third meeting of our Task Force on family planning. It was my first meeting with them, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had been told that we had made an effort to include representatives from multiple sectors and the experts who were in Nairobi. A brief scan over the list of invitees confirmed the broad reach of our search –- nongovernment organizations, donor representatives, government and ministry officials, civil society, and service delivery organizations were all represented.</p> <p>Our agenda for the half-day meeting was to build on previous discussions of what family planning messages needed to be conveyed to what audiences in order to reinvigorate political will to invest in Kenya’s family planning program. After we had summarized the steps taken to this point, brainstorming began on how to design a short, compelling presentation, keeping in mind our goal to use data to inspire. One of our challenges on the project is to move beyond the PowerPoint status quo of concise bulleted points and simple graphs; going into the meeting, I had few ideas of my own as to how to begin to meet this challenge. As our participants began to share ideas and build on each other, though, the energy, intellect, and determination of so many committed experts came together with an abundance of ideas that just might fit our bill. The best part was that everyone in attendance had a chance to speak their piece, and every contribution added to our presentation goal.</p> <p>I came away from the meeting feeling like my mind was overflowing with the potential of the day’s discussion. I was actually excited to retire to my hotel room and spend the evening processing the fruits of our discussion and keep us moving forward, building on the energy of the day.</p> <p>There is still a lot of work that remains on ENGAGE before we reach our goal of inspiring Kenyan policymakers to make a renewed stand on family planning. But with the excitement and creativity of our expert Task Force, I am confident that our efforts will not go wrong.</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=48&title=PRB in the Field: Building political will for family planning in Kenya" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-47"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=47" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to To Tell the Truth…With Statistics!: Aggregates and Averages">To Tell the Truth…With Statistics!: Aggregates and Averages</a></h2> <p><small>March 12th, 2009 Jay Gribble</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=47#respond" title="Comment on To Tell the Truth…With Statistics!: Aggregates and Averages">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Jay Gribble, vice president, International Programs</em> </p> <p>I was recently looking at use of family planning methods in Pakistan. According to the recent Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2006-07, almost 30 percent of married women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 49) use some form of family planning—either a traditional or modern method. Recent surveys indicate that use of family planning methods has hovered around 30 percent for almost a decade</p> <p>But what does this “30 percent” mean? So often, officials use aggregate numbers as the basis for decisions about policies and programs. But there are many ways to look at what that “30 percent” represents—and many of them could provide valuable insight into how to better serve the reproductive health needs of Pakistani women and couples. Let’s take a look at a few of them.</p> <p>We can consider how the “30 percent” breaks down by type of contraceptive method use. Of the 30 percent of women who use a family planning method, 8 percent use a traditional method and 22 percent use a modern method. If we considered only the group of women who report using any form of family planning, over a quarter (8/30) of them have opted to use a relatively ineffective methods—rhythm and withdrawal are the two most common traditional methods used. When we look at the use of modern methods, the most popular choice is female sterilization. Eight percent of all married women ages 15 to 49 have chosen sterilization; but when considering only women who are using family planning, over a quarter of women have chose sterilization. Condoms are also a popular method and are the choice of 7 percent of all married women ages 15 to 49 ( and the choice of 23 percent of women who use any form of family planning). However, inconsistent use of condoms can lead to unplanned pregnancies. So what does method mix tell us about family planning in Pakistan? It says that not too many women use effective contraception until they are ready to end childbearing. Few women use modern methods for the purpose of spacing pregnancies, which contributes to better health for both mothers and children.</p> <p>Another way to look at the “30 percent” is based on the number of children that a woman already has. In many parts of the world, women use contraception for years after marriage, choosing to start a family when they are ready. In Pakistan, less than 1 percent of women who have no children use family planning. It isn’t until women have three or more children that they really begin to think about family planning. After having five or more children, women opt for sterilization. Most Pakistani women are not using family planning to space pregnancies; if anything, they are using it so that they don’t ever get pregnant again.</p> <p>Finally, one of the most important ways of looking at the “30 percent” is by wealth group. It’s very common for a larger percentage of wealthier women to use family planning than poor women, which is also the case in Pakistan. Among the poor, almost 16 percent use family planning, while 43 percent of women the wealthiest group are using contraception. Among the poor who are using any form of family planning, almost half are sterilized and one third uses another modern method. But the fact that 84 percent of poor women are not using any form of family planning is a very important piece of information to know. Among the wealthy, 31 percent use modern methods and 12 percent rely on ineffective traditional methods. Again, the national average of “30 percent” hides this important variation.</p> <p>Given what we know about high fertility and poverty, we should be thinking more about how to make family planning more accessible to the poor. While the “30 percent” leaves room for improvement, the fact that 84 percent of Pakistan’s poorest women are not using any form of family planning suggests that something must to change.</p> <p>Averages are useful for comparisons, but remember to scratch the surface and see what’s really going on.</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=47&title=To Tell the Truth…With Statistics!: Aggregates and Averages" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div id="post-46"> <h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=46" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to PRB in the Field: A Study Tour on Reproductive Health for Tanzanian Journalists">PRB in the Field: A Study Tour on Reproductive Health for Tanzanian Journalists</a></h2> <p><small>February 24th, 2009 Victoria Ebin</small> Posted in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=31" title="View all posts in PRB News" rel="category">PRB News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?cat=12" title="View all posts in Reproductive Health" rel="category">Reproductive Health</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/?p=46#respond" title="Comment on PRB in the Field: A Study Tour on Reproductive Health for Tanzanian Journalists">No Comments »</a> </p> <div class="entry"> <p><em>by Victoria Ebin, news media coordinator, PRB</em></p> <p>PRB organized a five-day study tour on reproductive health for Tanzanian journalists in January. Nine journalists selected for the tour traveled by bus from Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean to Arusha in the north, stopping along the way to visit clinics, NGOs, and hospitals specializing in reproductive health.</p> <p>The journalists covered hundreds of dusty miles in a colorfully decorated bus with bright orange flames painted on the windows. Under the vigilant eye of consultant facilitator Halima Shariff, who kept participants and bus driver alike on schedule, the study tour followed a tightly packed program. The visits highlighted the challenges of stocking clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies around the country with contraceptives. The tour also looked at successful partnerships between the public and private sectors to improve reproductive health and equity among the wealthy and the poor to health care.</p> <p><center><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2FPopulationReferenceBureau%2Falbumid%2F5304968936416029121%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DlJ0IqSmOtdw" height="267" width="400" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124oe_/http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></center>“We learned about our own grassroots,” one journalist said at the end of the tour. “It was the first time I could see how government decisions affect so directly the local people.”The tour began in a densely populated neighborhood outside Dar es Salaam, at the UMATI youth center where the journalists learned about the importance of ensuring young people’s access to contraceptives. Center Director Simon Mbelé said one measure of the facility’s success is in a study that found that young women who came to UMATI with an unintended first pregnancy were less likely than other young women to have a second unintended pregnancy because of the counseling and information they receive at the clinic. The journalists talked with some of the young women who take part in UMATI’s micro-finance program as they prepared food to sell to office workers and, at the same time, glimpsed a dozen or so well-dressed young children at the center’s day-care program. A woman journalist familiar with the neighborhood said that if not for UMATI, those children would have been begging in the streets.</p> <p>At the DELIVER project, a USAID-funded project of John Snow Inc., Tim Rosche talked about the challenges of distributing contraceptives throughout the country so that hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies had the supplies they needed. A key element in these logistical puzzles, he told the reporters, is a strong collaboration with the Ministry of Health, international donors, and NGOs. A weakness in Tanzania’s current strategy, he added, is the absence of a strong voice in the ministry calling for the increased funding necessary to meet the country’s needs.</p> <p>The final visit of the trip was to the Selian Lutheran Hospital outside Arusha, a 120-bed medical center that mainly serves a Maasai population. In 2002, it became the first hospital in the area to repair obstetric fistula, a significant problem in the region caused in part by the Maasai’s desire for large families and women’s young age at marriage. The journalists also learned that contraceptives are often out of stock, especially the long-acting methods the local women prefer. The journalists met with clients at the hospital’s family planning clinic, where, as one journalist said, it was the first time he had heard a woman express her desire to limit the number of children she would have.</p> <p>After the tour, several journalists noted it was the first time they had ever been able to interview medical personnel and their clients. All of the journalists who participated are members of the Association of Journalists against AIDS in Tanzania, which recently added a reproductive health section to its activities and helped organize the tour.</p> </div>  <div class="addthis"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?pub=blogohblog&url=http://prbblog.org/?p=46&title=PRB in the Field: A Study Tour on Reproductive Health for Tanzanian Journalists" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://s9.addthis.com/button1-bm.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="AddThis Social Bookmark Button"/></a></div> </div> <div class="br"><br/></div> <div> <div class="alignleft"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://prbblog.org/index.php?cat=12&paged=2">« Previous Entries</a></div> <div class="alignright"></div> </div> <br/> </div> </td></tr></table></center>  <br/><br/> <div align="center"> <div align="center" id="ftr"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://www.prb.org/images/footer2.gif" width="3" height="23" align="right"/><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124im_/http://www.prb.org/images/footer1.gif" width="3" height="23" align="left"/><span class="footertext">Services: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.prb.org/Home/EmailSignup.aspx">Get E-Mail News</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.prb.org/Join.aspx">Join/Renew Membership</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.prb.org/Donate.aspx">Donate</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.prb.org/Bookstore.aspx">Bookstore</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.prb.org/Home/Contact.aspx">Contact</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.prb.org/SpanishContent.aspx">Español</a>  ·  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.prb.org/FrenchContent.aspx">Français</a></span></div> <span class="footer2text"><b>Copyright 2007, Population Reference Bureau.</b> All rights reserved. • <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/http://www.prb.org/Home/Privacy.aspx">Privacy Policy</a></span><br/> <span class="footer2text">1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW • Suite 520 • Washington, DC 20009-5728 • USA <br/> <b>Phone:</b> 800-877-9881 • <b>Fax:</b> 202-328-3937 • <b>E-mail:</b> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090919054124/mailto:popref@prb.org">popref@prb.org</a></span><br/> </div>  </div>  <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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