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Sophie Cousins is a global health writer based in South Asia. Her stories have appeared in The Lancet, Nature, The Guardian, The BMJ and others.
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Abortion is illegal in almost all cases in Sri Lanka, but it’s perfectly legal for women to seek help after complications from backstreet abortions. Still, the fear of stigma and discrimination prevents many from coming forward.
Nepal has banned the practice of banishing menstruating women and girls to sheds. Activists have welcomed the new law, but say there is more work to be done to change people’s minds about the tradition, which has led to a number of deaths in recent years.
Today, medication to prevent HIV takes the form of a daily pill, which is not convenient for everyone. However, new tools such as injections and implants are currently in development – and the first tests look promising.
The effects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s banknote ban on India’s informal economy – from sex trafficking to corruption – are not yet clear, but in Old Delhi, one woman is breaking the cycle of forced sex work with education instead.
In India, women who suffer from tuberculosis often face discrimination and social isolation – something that doesn’t happen to men with the disease. Ahead of World TB Day on March 24, female TB survivors are breaking their silence in the hopes of changing attitudes toward the illness.
Phumeza Tisile was 19 when she was diagnosed with a deadly, drug-resistant form of TB. Her experience of treatment and eventual survival turned her into an activist fighting for better access to treatment for others who face the same fate.
As counselors for the Meri Saathi helpline, midwife Hima Mishra and her team field hundreds of calls a day from people with questions about sex, pregnancy and abortion, helping to shed light on reproductive health rights in Nepal.
In sub-Saharan Africa, girls and young women account for 71 percent of new HIV infections among adolescents. South African officials hope more access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, will help, but experts say stigma and lack of education could doom those efforts.
At around 200 deaths per 100,000 live births, Myanmar has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the region. As part of its plan to bring down those numbers, the government is giving women long-term contraception for free.
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