This book documents the massive deprivation of human rights resulting from governmental censorship, manipulation, and control of reproductive health and sexuality information. The introductory chapter applies a human rights perspective to reproductive health to show that women must have full and impartial information to be able to choose services which further their goals rather than governmental policies. Examples of different types of state manipulation are provided, and demographic, biomedical, and reproductive health paradigms of contraceptive delivery programs are described. Chapter 2 identifies the binding obligations imposed on governments by the international principle that women have a right to appropriate reproductive health information. The third chapter provides a global overview of such topics as health expenditures, fertility rates, infertility, literacy and education, infant and child mortality, maternal mortality, child spacing, contraceptive usage, unmet need, abortion, HIV/AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Chapters 4-13 present country reports for Algeria, Brazil, Chile, Ireland, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, and the US. The country reports reveal the overwhelming need of women to have access to this information and the innumerable ways in which governments control such access. The country reports also describe factors such as religion, culture, tradition, state of development, and influence of foreign donors which have an impact on access to information. Each country report ends with specific recommendations, and the concluding chapter defines seven obligations of national governments imposed by the right to information contained in international law and contains recommendations of ways nongovernmental organizations can use these obligations to lobby governments for improvements.

World Bank Technical Paper No. 319S. Proposes a program for judicial reform in Latin America and the Caribbean which specifically addresses the main factors affecting the quality and monopolistic nature of court services and the resultant inefficiency. The paper looks at how the proposed reform program would address the economic and legal causes at the root of an inefficient and inequitable judiciary and discusses ways of reversing the situation.

Provides bibliographic and descriptive information for books and serials published by the World Health Organization and its regional offices from 1986 to March 1990. Also includes new publications from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

A detailed, illustrated history of the work of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean over the past four decades. Drawing upon a wide range of published and unpublished sources, the book tells the story of successes and failures, changing patterns of disease and evolving health strategies in a part of the world undergoing rapid development. The book marks the first time that the history of international health work in this area has been fully recorded and interpreted. The book contains 28 chapters presented in three main parts. The first traces the history and evolution of WHO and EMRO, moving from the origins of international health cooperation to the challenges and priorities that characterized health work during the 1980s. Chapters in the second part concentrate on the special health problems of Eastern Mediterranean countries. These range from the plight of the Palestinian refugees to health regulations governing the Mecca pilgrimage. Other topics include the special problem of traditional practices that harm women and children, efforts to combat prejudice against the mentally ill, and the new health problems created by changing lifestyles. The final part explains how the Regional Office operates, in partnership with a vast number of individuals and institutions, to contribute to the global work of WHO.