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Cervical cancer, caused by HPV infection, is responsible for more than 311 000 preventable deaths every year. A global call to accelerate efforts to eliminate this disease has generated a new global strategy proposing ambitious, but achievable, targets for HPV vaccination of girls, and screening and treatment of women. The present paper addresses the suboptimal access to HPV vaccination in low‐income and lower‐middle‐income countries (LICs/LMICs), where the burden of disease weighs most heavily, in part through co‐infection with HIV. A proposed framework for action was formulated by first reviewing the reasons underlying gaps in HPV vaccine coverage. Good practices from recent introductions of HPV vaccine at scale in LICs/LMICs were then assessed based on targeted literature reviews and the experience and views of the authors. Difficulties in uptake and coverage of the HPV vaccine relate to the costs of the vaccine and service delivery, lack of prioritization, the challenges of vaccinating adolescents, and shortage of vaccines as the supply failed to keep pace with the rapid expansion in global demand, including from LICs/LMICs. The framework for action calls for new strategic thinking to consolidate global learning and invigorate operationalization at a country level., The elimination of cervical cancer calls for better innovation, investment, integration, information, and influence to boost vaccination against human papilloma virus infection.

Objective To identify, survey, and systematically review the current knowledge regarding obstetric fistula as a public health problem in low-income countries from the peer-reviewed literature. Methods The Medline and Science Citation Index databases were searched to identify public health articles on obstetric fistula in low-income countries. Quantitative evidence-based papers were reviewed. Results Thirty-three articles met the criteria for inclusion: 18 hospital-based reviews; 6 on risk factors/prevention; 4 on prevalence/incidence measurement; 3 on consequences of obstetric fistula; and 2 on community-based assessments. Conclusion Obstetric fistula has received increased international attention as a public health problem, but reliable research on the burden of disease and interventions is lacking.

Obstetric fistula persists in the developing world due to poor access to obstetric care. It has been overlooked in the past, as the women suffering from fistula often live on the fringe of society due to their poverty and the stigma surrounding the condition. A global Campaign to End Fistula is bringing a variety of actors together to raise awareness and support to prevent fistula and provide comprehensive treatment for women living with fistula. This paper describes the strategies and progress of the campaign since it began in 2003.

Reproductive rights continue to be under threat, even some 15 years after the landmark International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo declared the importance of a satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to have children, and the right to decide on the timing, number, and spacing. The right to choose whether and when to have children is at risk both from some who seek to increase birth rates through pronatalist policies and from some who seek a return to "population control" as a response to global climate change, environmental degradation, endemic poverty, global recession, and food shortages. This paper argues the success of the rights-based approach to family planning, reproductive health and health education, and outlines issues and policy responses related to low fertility. This is contrasted with the unmet need for family planning in the poorest countries. It calls for health providers to advocate for reproductive rights, affirming that the freedom of women to control their fertility is the basis for other essential freedoms.