Two countries, two different approaches to population programs

Sex ed is surprisingly awkward in the land of the Kama Sutra, but one foundation is trying to change that with a modern version of the program, all in an effort to stop gang rape.

In rural areas in India, lack of physicians is a big barrier to safe abortions, leading women to undergo deadly procedures. A proposed law by the Indian government would allow midwives and mid-level providers to perform abortions.

Colorado causes a large decline in teen pregnancy and abortions by implementing free, long-term birth control to prevent pregnancy. While demonstrating massive success, its continuity is in the air considering the ongoing fight over health insurance at the federal level.

The H.I.V. infection rate in San Francisco dropped drastically after the city increased testing and created programs like Rapid, which immediately offer public health insurance, antiretroviral drugs, and personal counselors for people with AIDS.

A non-profit in Bangladesh is fighting domestic violence by having female and especially male Bangladeshi volunteers give sexual education and women's rights classes.

Historically, decisions to make birth-control methods affordable to low-income women have ignored women's reproductive rights and discriminated against minorities. A counseling model that explicitly focuses on a woman’s preferences could be used to overcome latent bias.

For decades, AIDS has taken the lives of millions of people and infected millions more worldwide. The key to reducing the effect of AIDS, and even potentially curing it, involves treating patients as early as possible after being diagnosed with HIV, before the disease damages organs. San Francisco General Hospital developed the RAPID program for this purpose, with the goal of “Getting to Zero” the number of new infections and deaths.

A nonprofit based in Calgary, Canada, created a sex ed class for boys that includes critical discussion of human rights, sexual health, gender, and healthy relationships, as well as a safe space for boys to share their thoughts.

Due to patrilineality, sons are highly favored over daughters in many countries, with serious consequence. South Korea, the only country to have returned to normal sex ratios after having a highly abnormal ratio of boys:girls, has lessons for other countries.

A Buffalo, New York clinic provides a space for both abortions and natural births. In looking at the experiences as a continuum, rather than as juxtiposing sides, the hope is to change how people think about the birth experiences.