Blogs

Somali women attacked on journey to refugee camp

Lily Boisson of CBC News writes that Somali women fleeing drought and famine in their home country face sexual and gender-based violence as they journey to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. Women traveling to the camps with only their children and few…

Book Review: Counting the Dead

Counting the Dead: The Culture and Politics of Human Rights Activism in Colombia Winifred Tate University of California Press, 2007 ISBN 978-0-520-25283-7 (paperback) 400 pages $24.95. Reviewed by HHR editorial assistant Judith Fitzpatrick  In this…

Kenya's fistula rate could improve with hospital deliveries

Africa Media Network reporter Ouma Wanzala writes that 7,000 new cases of obstetric fistula occur each year in Kenya alone. Dr. Hillary Mabeya, one of the country’s few specialists in obstetric fistula, explains that only 400 of these women receive…

East Indian court upholds rejection of Lanjigarh Refinery expansion

Villagers in the East Indian coastal state of Orissa are giving advocates of the human right to health something to think about. On July 19, the state high court upheld the Indian government’s decision to reject a massive expansion of the Lanjigarh…

Foreign Policy: Hope in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In his June 20 article, Foreign Policy‘s Charles Kenny writes, “Citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo believe there’s hope for their war-torn country even if no one else does — and their optimism is starting to get…

Reducing the health gap: A global plan for justice

A child born in sub-Saharan Africa is twenty-five times more likely to die in the first five years of life than one born in the United States. If she lives to child-bearing age, she is a two hundred times more likely to die in labor. Overall, she will…