Female Genital Cutting: Current Status and Trends
Although many governments have passed laws against female genital cutting, the practice is still widespread in many countries. More than seven in 10 women have undergone the procedure in Mauritania, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Northern Sudan, Eritrea, Mali, Egypt, and Guinea. (February 2007)

The Campaign Against Female Genital Cutting: New Hope, New Challenges
Despite the decades-long worldwide campaign against female genital cutting, more than 3 million girls a year still undergo this harmful traditional practice. But there are increasing numbers of good studies about which kinds of programs have promise in persuading communities to abandon cutting. At the same time, recent medical research provides new evidence that females who are cut are more likely to have complicated births and stillbirths. Both give new hope to the campaign. (February 2007)

Abandoning Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: An In-Depth Look at Promising Practices
This new publication, funded by USAID and produced by the Population Reference Bureau with FHI, The Manoff Group, PATH, and Population Council, presents an in-depth look at three promising interventions of organizations and individuals working toward the abandonment of female genital mutiliation/cutting. The case studies are from  Ethiopia, Ghana, and Senegal. (February 2007)

Time to Intervene: Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa

 This policy brief helps raise awareness among decisionmakers in the Middle East and North Africa about the urgent need for action by presenting some HIV/AIDS warning signs, risks, and vulnerabilities in the region. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in MENA is low but increasing in every country in the region. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (February 2007)

PRB Discuss Online: "Environment, Poverty, and Security in Today's World: What's Population Got to Do With It?"
How are environmental, poverty, and security trends in today's world affected by population dynamics? What is being done to address these issues? What is needed? Roger-Mark De Souza, technical director for population, health, and environment at PRB, led a PRB Discuss Online on population, health, and environment links.  Read a transcript of the questions and answers. (January 2007)

The Feminization of Migration: Obstacles to Good Health Care
Migrant women and men share some health problems but experience others separately, because of culture as well as biology. As the number of female international migrants increases, obstacles to their care need to be considered when health services are designed and delivered. (January 2007)

Postnatal Care: A Critical Opportunity to Save Mothers and Newborns (PDF: 155KB)
Given the exceptional extent to which the deaths of mothers and babies occur in the first days after birth, the early postnatal period is the ideal time to deliver interventions to improve the health and survival of both the newborn and the mother. Integrated maternal and newborn postnatal care (PNC) during the first few days after delivery should be provided to all newborns and their mothers as a concerted strategy to improve survival of both. (January 2007)

Unsafe Abortion: Facts & Figures 2006
This guide provides data and other information to help shed light on the public health aspects of unsafe abortion. Of the estimated 46 million induced abortions each year, nearly 19 million are performed in unsafe conditions and/or by unskilled providers and result in the deaths of an estimated 68,000 girls and women. (2006)

PRB Discuss Online: "Who Is Malnourished or Hungry in the World? Why? What Can We Do to Help?"
How many malnourished or hungry people are there in the world, and why? Is the situation improving or worsening. In this PRB Discuss Online, Bill Butz, president and CEO of PRB, led a discussion on this topic. Read a transcript of the questions and answers. (December 2006)

Linking Population, Health, and Environment in Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar

 For more than a decade, development practitioners and communities in Fianarantsoa province, Madagascar, have been involved in community-based projects that link family planning, health, and environment efforts. (2006)