A Summary of the 'So What?' Report: Integrating a Gender Focus

 This is a summary of the longer IGWG "So What" report published in March 2004. The brief, produced through a collaboration between USAID's Interagency Gender Working Group and WHO's Department of Gender, Women and Health, presents the conclusions of the longer report, making it clear and accessible to policymakers and program managers. It presents the evidence that integrating gender into reproductive health programs makes a difference to outcomes, both reproductive health outcomes and gender outcomes. (July 2005)

Building on Global Gains in Health, Education, and Rights: The Cairo Concensus (PDF: 129KB)
This policy brief looks back over the five years since national leaders, in 1994, made the commitment to a 20-year agreement that recognized a new approach to population and development. The agreement was adoped at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), in Cairo. Since 1994, many countries have formulated new reproductive health policies, tested new ways to provide health services, and promoted the advancement of women. (December 2000)

Do Empowered Mothers Foster Gender Equity and Better Reproductive Health in the Next Generation? (PDF: 70KB)
This six-page policy brief investigates whether empowered mothers and mothers-in-law are more likely to promote better reproductive health and positive gender norms among married daughters and daughters-in-law in the next generation. The brief includes recommendations for making policies and programs more effective in supporting women's empowerment. (January 2005) 

Emerging Issues in Women's Health and Rights: Discussions from Women 2000 (PDF: 190KB)
This policy brief reviews the outcome of the "Women 2000" meeting, held at the United Nations in June 2000. UN delegates from over 178 member states gathered in New York City to reaffirm their commitment to women's rights. Meeting to review progress on the Platform for Action of the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women, the delegates also identified initiatives for speeding up implementation of the Beijing Platform, including such areas of concern as health, education, and poverty. (November 2000)

Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa
While access to education for females has improved dramatically over the past few decades in the Middle East, many are still excluded. Education helps women prepare for the labor force and helps them understand their legal and reproductive rights. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (November 2003)

Ensuring a Wide Range of Family Planning Choices
The use of contraception varies widely around the world, both in terms of total use and the types of methods used. In many countries, women and couples rely largely on one or two contraceptive methods, because of government policies, the way that national family planning programs have evolved, and cultural or social preferences. Understanding why people prefer some contraceptive methods over others can be useful for strengthening family planning programs. (April 2008)

Gender Equality: New Opportunities for Moving Ahead

 The UN's Millennium Development Goals present a unique chance to carry forward the agenda for women's empowerment. (June 2005)

Hidden Suffering: Disabilities From Pregnancy and Childbirth in Less Developed Countries

 Maternal disabilities are tragic on two counts: They occur in the process of giving life, and they are almost entirely preventable. Reducing maternal disabilities is as important for alleviating poverty as it is for reducing needless suffering. (August 2002)

How Does Family Planning Influence Women's Lives? (PDF: 266KB)
This policy brief highlights perhaps the most significant and personal change for women that occurred in the second half of the 20th century: the means to choose whether and when to have children. This "reproductive revolution" has helped give women the chance to pursue new roles and activities outside the home, and to contribute to a country's economic and social development. (October 2000)

Improving the Quality of Reproductive Health Care: How Much Does It Cost? (PDF: 238KB)
Quality of care should be the focus of family planning and reproductive health programs. But can programs afford it? There is no simple answer. (May 2003)

Investing in Reproductive Health to Achieve Development Goals: The Middle East and North Africa

 This PRB policy brief outlines who prioritizing women's reproductive health at a national level would help accelerate progress in the MENA region toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals. (January 2006)

Is Education the Best Contraceptive? (PDF: 267KB)
The United Nations, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Population Council, and others have examined the links between education and childbearing to provide a greater understanding of these issues. This policy brief highlights key findings from their investigations. (August 2000)

Marriage in the Arab World

 Universal, early marriage is no longer the standard it once was in Arab countries: The average age at marriage for both men and women is generally rising, and more Arab women are staying single longer or not marrying at all. These trends are introducing new issues into Arab societies that confront deeply rooted cultural values and raise legal and policy challenges. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (December 2005)

Progress Toward the Millennium Development Goals in the Middle East
Countries in the MENA region were among the 189 countries that attended the 2000 United Nations Millennium Summit, where leaders from around the word adopted the Millennium Declaration and made a commitment to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (March 2004)

Reforming Family Laws to Promote Progress in the Middle East and North Africa

 Morocco recently adopted an entirely new family law that is consistent with the spirit of Islam, yet based on equal rights for both men and women. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (February 2006)

Taking Stock of Women's Progress

 This policy brief summarizes information contained in PRB's "Women of Our World 2005" datasheet. Data on women's situation can be powerful in demonstrating that discrimination against girls and women is pervasive and merits attention. (May 2005)

Women, Men, and Environmental Change

 This brief, part of PRB's series "Emerging Policy Issues in Population, Health, and the Environment," examines how gender differences play a part in natural resource use, how resource depletion affects women and men differently, and what has been done worldwide to integrate gender concerns in environmental planning. (February 2002)

Women's Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa (PDF: 234KB)
About half of the 10 million women who give birth each year in the Middle East and North Africa have some kind of complication, with more then 1 million of them suffering serious injuries that lead to long-term illness. (February 2003)