Publications

This document has been designed to provide a framework to support local and national STI prevalence studies. The aim of these studies is to understand the burden of disease of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), two priority STIs that can cause adverse birth outcomes. For this, the objective is to epidemiologically describe the prevalence of these two infections among pregnant women and, by proxy, the general population in the country.

This document provides an overview of sexual and reproductive health and rights issues that may be important for the human rights, health and well-being of adolescents (aged 10–19 years) and the relevant World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on how to address them in an easily accessible, user-friendly format. The document serves as a gateway to the rich body of WHO guidelines, and as a handy resource to inform advocacy, policy and programme/project design and research. It aims to support the implementation of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health 2016–2030 (1), and is aligned with the WHO Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) as well as the WHO Operational Framework on Sexual Health and Its Linkages to Reproductive Health (2,3).

1 in 3 women will experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, mostly by an intimate partner. This violence has a profound impact on the health of women and their families. WHO brings attention to this important public health issue through research and evidence building, development of guidelines and tools for the health sector, strengthening country capacity, and advocacy to increase political will. Here are some of WHO’s key achievements and priorities in the coming years to address violence against women.

The National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSACP) of the Ministry of Health, is the main government organization responsible for planning and implementation of the national response to HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka in collaboration with all stakeholders. This volume of NSACP annual report summarizes the activities conducted by the NSACP during 2017 and presents the strategic information on STI and HIV collected from all the peripheral STD clinics and ART centers situated island-wide. It is noted with satisfaction that over the years the annual report of NSACP has become a reliable reference document on HIV and STI situation in the country to both the public and the research community.

The purpose of this study was to collect data on the “high-fun” realities of young gay, bisexual men and other young men who have sex with men in three major cities in the region; Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta. The cities were selected depending on available data on drug use. This is a qualitative study undertaken by Youth Voices Count as a regional network and serves the purpose of collection of data to inform future interventions and advocacy of YVC on and for young gay, bisexual men and other young men who have sex with men who use drugs in sexualized settings. This study is by no means a scientific study of this phenomenon.

The region’s vibrant economies and societies have produced historic advances in human well-being. Women have been central to these advances, as leaders of communities and countries, as workers and innovators, as advocates for peace and security. In 2016 and 2017, as this report amply demonstrates, UN Women played an instrumental part in mobilizing people to step up efforts to achieve gender equality and contribute to other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline. Our efforts gave women more voice, more choice, and greater safety; they included women most marginalized in their societies.

At the 2011 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS that took place in June in New York, Member States adopted a new Political Declaration which contained new targets to effectively respond to the AIDS epidemic. The 2011 Political Declaration mandates UNAIDS to support countries in reporting back on progress made towards achieving the new commitments. It also provides for the UN Secretary-General to report regularly to the General Assembly on progress achieved in realizing these commitments. The first case of HIV was diagnosed in Singapore in 1985. Since then, the number of HIV notifications among Singapore residents has increased from 2 in 1985 to a cumulative total of 7,982 as of 31 Dec 2017. Of these, 1,960 (25%) have died.

The purpose of this study was to collect data on the "high-fun" realities of young gay, bisexual men and other young men who have sex with men in three major cities in the region; Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta. The cities were selected depending on available data on drug use. This is a qualitative study undertaken by Youth Voices Count as a regional network and serves the purpose of collection of data to inform future interventions and advocacy of YVC on and for young gay, bisexual men and other young men who have sex with men who use drugs in sexualized settings. This study is by no means a scientific study of this phenomenon.

From 12 to 14 December 2017, the Transnational Institute (TNI) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ), in collaboration with the Thai Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage (MFLF), jointly organised the 9th Asian Informal Drug Policy Dialogue (IDPD) in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Representatives from government institutions and civil society organisations from Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, China, and Afghanistan, as well as several international NGOs, intergovernmental organisations and experts, including experts on drug policy from Latin America attended the Dialogue. At the Dialogue, 48 participants discussed issues around AD as well as broader (rural) development issues in the context of drug policy.

Sex workers experienced stock-outs of antiretroviral drugs for HIV in more than half of the countries that responded to the consultation, in all types of health care settings. Sex workers experience forced treatment interruptions and involuntary medication changes due to stock-outs, and are forced to travel long distances to access commodities and treatments due to stock-outs in their local areas. This ultimately leads to a lack of trust in health services and systems.