BURNING ISSUE

Referendum on decriminalization of voluntary abortion in Portugal will take place on 11^th of February. Portuguese electorate will be put before this question for the second time. In 1998 the anti-choice circles won slightly. But what will happen this time? Pro-choice movement around the globe has mobilized and solidarized to advocate for ‘yes’ in the referendum. Activists have been gathering support among the international health care community and sexual and reproductive health and rights advocates. They believe as do the European Parliament, United Nations and World Health Organization that access to safe and legal abortion will reduce the alarming number of 68 thousands of women’s deaths a year due to complications resulting from clandestine abortions, as well as cases of hospitalization. The polls indicate that approximately 64% of Portuguese voters might be for the legalization of abortion till ten weeks, but there is a threat that the high abstinence rate might invalidate the referendum itself.         

KAZAKHSTAN: Eighty children contracted HIV in hospitals. This tragedy reminds us of the alarming increase of HIV/AIDS cases in the country    The hospitals from the Shymkent region are responsible for infecting children with HIV through blood transfusions. As a result, eight infants died. This tragedy provides grounds to discuss the HIV/AIDS problem in Kazakhstan and evaluate the state’s policies to fight the disease.

According to World Bank’s assessments, the country suffers form being at the forefront of the pandemic and the number of infections has doubled each year since 2000. But those estimates relate to officially recorded cases – 7000 in total. Other sources, for example UNICEF, indicate that the real number of HIV-positive children and adults might be up to three times higher.

Experts are concerned with the lack of an effective national policy to fight HIV/AIDS. There is no sexuality education, that has to be recognized as the primary preventative mean, provided at schools.

Source: Kaiser 03/01/2007 

LATVIA & POLAND: Amnesty International reports on lesbians, gay, bisexuals and transgender rights. Human rights of LGBT persons are violated in Latvia and Poland and those countries do not comply with international legal framework that relates to sexual minorities, experts claim. Amnesty International is especially concerned about infringements on freedom of expression and assembly in both examined countries. Moreover, the overt homophobia expressed by some prominent public figures in Poland has been recognized as a grave problem. As far as Poland is concerned, there are also legal deficiencies. For example, in the Polish constitutional prohibition of discrimination, there is no reference to sexual orientation and gender identity. Similarly to Poland, there have been instances of banning marches and demonstrations in Latvia.

Comprehensive information available at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR010192006?open&of=ENG-347    

POLAND: HPV Vaccine on the agenda. National Action with NGOs participation to fight cervical cancer, that was launched a year ago, finally becomes visible to the public. There is a widely recognizable media campaign, that consists of TV spots and adverts in the press, including the most popular daily newspapers. Forty information desks have been established in various cities of the country to counsel women. Beyond any shadow of a doubt, many Polish women learned about human papillomavirus, and how to protect themselves from it, for the first time in their lives. 

The number of deaths caused by cervical cancer in Poland is the highest in Europe. Every day, five Polish women die of this type of cancer, which is the second most frequently recorded one. Thus the lack of awareness of the preventative measures – regular pap smear and HPV vaccine, which is available for Polish women since November 2006 - is extremely alarming.