he starting point for this guideline is the point at which a woman has learnt that she is living with HIV and it therefore covers key issues for providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights-related services and support for women living with HIV. As women living with HIV face unique challenges and human rights violations related to their sexuality and reproduction within their families and communities as well as from the health-care institutions where they seek care particular emphasis is placed on the creation of an enabling environment to support more effective health interventions and better health outcomes. This guideline is meant to help countries to more effectively and efficiently plan develop and monitor programmes and services that promote gender equality and human rights and hence are more acceptable and appropriate for women living with HIV taking into account the national and local epidemiological context. It discusses implementation issues that health interventions and service delivery must address to achieve gender equality and support human rights.

Self-care interventions are among the most promising and exciting new approaches to improve health and well-being, both from a health systems perspective and for people who use these interventions. The World Health Organization (WHO) uses the following working definition of self-care: Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker. The scope of self-care as described in this definition includes health promotion; disease prevention and control; self-medication; providing care to dependent persons; seeking hospital/specialist/primary care if necessary; and rehabilitation, including palliative care. It includes a range of self-care modes and approaches. While this is a broad definition that includes many activities, it is important for health policy to recognize the importance of self-care, especially where it intersects with health systems and health professionals. Worldwide, an estimated shortage of 18 million health workers is anticipated by 2030, a record 130 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance, and disease outbreaks are a constant global threat. At least 400 million people worldwide lack access to the most essential health services, and every year 100 million people are plunged into poverty because they have to pay for health care out of their own pockets. There is an urgent need to find innovative strategies that go beyond the conventional health sector response. While "self-care" is not a new term or concept, self-care interventions have the potential to increase choice, when they are accessible and affordable, and they can also provide more opportunities for individuals to make informed decisions regarding their health and health care. In humanitarian settings, for example, due to lack of or limited health infrastructure and medical services in the crisis-affected areas, self-care could play an important role to improve health-related outcomes. Self-care also builds upon existing movements, such as task sharing, which are powerful strategies to support health systems.

While the civil rights movement has put disability issues centre-stage, there has been minimal discussion of disabled people's sexuality. This book, based on first-hand accounts, takes a close look at questions of identity, relationships, sex, love, parenting and abuse and demolishes the taboo around disability and sex. It shows the barriers to disabled people's sexual rights and sexual expression, and also the ways in which these obstacles are being challenged. Variously moving, angry, funny and proud, The Sexual Politics of Disability is about disabled people sharing their stories and claiming their place as sexual beings. It is a pioneering work, and essential reading for anyone interested in disability or sexual politics.

Optimizing outcomes for women in labor at the global level requires evidence-based guidance of health workers to improve care through appropriate patient selection and use of effective interventions. In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) published recommendations for induction of labor in 2011. The goal of the present guideline is to consolidate the guidance for effective interventions that are needed to reduce the global burden of prolonged labor and its consequences. The primary target audience includes health professionals responsible for developing national and local health protocols and policies, as well as obstetricians, midwives, nurses, general medical practitioners, managers of maternal and child health programs, and public health policy-makers in all settings.

Originally published in 1998 Sexual Behaviour and HIV/AIDS in Europe is detailed study comparing the major population surveys on sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS carried out in Europe at the time of publication. Leading European researchers explore the differences and similarities between European countries in patterns of sexual behaviour and responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As well as providing an empirical and methodological base for future research, the comparative analyses lead researchers, policy makers, health-educators and the media to new insights and a deeper understanding of issues that are of central concern in many countries. The chapters include discussion of data on sexual initiation, homosexual and bisexual behaviour, sexual practices, sexual partners, risk behaviour, STDs, preventive practices, the normative context, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and attitudes towards people with HIV/AIDS. The book results from a major European Concerted Action, funded by the European Union Biomedical and Health Research programme (BIOMED), and coordinated by the Centre d'Etudes Sociologiques of the Facultes Universitaires Saint-Louis, Brussels, Belgium. It follows Sexual Interactions and HIV Risk, published in 1997.

The Thirty years since China’s reform and opening have been very eventful for the country in in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, and this volume presents a multi-disciplinary look at the current scholarship going on in China on the subject, translated into English to assist scholars worldwide in understanding China’s recent history.