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This paper outlines a conceptual framework and a number of thematic and cross-cutting research issues in sexual and reproductive health as a first step in a consultative process towards the identification of gaps and priorities for research in this field. The themes of social equity, poverty and gender addressed in this paper are of particular relevance to the field of sexual and reproductive health. So, too, are the challenges of collaborating with in-country partners to identify context-specific research priorities that address the many and varied dimensions of sexual and reproductive health and its determinants and correlates in order to build the evidence base and put policy and programmatic evidence into practice in low-resource settings

This is a summary of a desk-based literature review that examines the factors that contribute to the vulnerability and risk of HIV infection in men, women, and men-who-have-sex-with-men. It is a resource for NGOs and Community Based Organisations to build a greater understanding of how gender and sexuality determine vulnerability to HIV. It also highlights major human rights declarations, treaties and recommendations that can be used by individuals and associations to advocate for their rights and hold decision makers accountable to their commitments

This briefing note is part of an awareness-raising activity by the UN Programme on Youth to provide information on issues from a youth policy making perspective. The document provides statistical data on the under-researched topic of youth and disability and gives information on issues related to family relations, employment, education, sexuality and acceptance in society from a world-wide perspective. This briefing note is useful for people who are interested in issues related to youth and disability
Briefing Note on Youth, No. 2

Although access to primary education in Guatemala has increased in recent years, particularly in rural areas, levels of educational attainment and literacy remain among the lowest in Latin America. Problems include late entry, grade repetition, and early dropout. Inequalities in school access and grade attainment linked to ethnicity, gender, poverty, and residence remain. Age trends show that Mayan females are the least likely to ever enroll, and, if they do enroll, to start school the latest and drop out earliest. Mayan females are not a homogeneous group, however. Summary statistics indicate that the one-fourth of Mayan girls who are non-poor have primary school entry rates, school entry age, and grade-for-age levels equal to those of Ladina females, and, conditional upon primary school completion, have secondary school enrollment levels about 80 percent of those of Ladina females. The one-quarter of Mayan girls who are extremely poor, on the other hand, have the worst educational outcomes of all. Multivariate results indicate that being Mayan and female is a barrier to enrollment, particularly among those who are poor. Enrollment rates drop sharply at age 12, and the dropout curve is steepest for Mayan females. While age 12 would be a time of transition from primary to secondary school for children who entered school on time and made regular progress, most nonenrolled children aged 12 and older, especially those who are Mayan, have very low grade attainment and few have completed primary school. The main constraint to Mayan educational achievement therefore appears to be primary school completion. Among nonenrolled young people aged 13-24, household duties and lack of money were the constraints most frequently mentioned by females. Early marriage did not appear to directly affect female enrollment, but related qualitative findings indicate that Mayan parents’ expectations of daughters’ future roles may reduce parental incentives to invest in education beyond the age of puberty. For adolescent males, regardless of ethnicity, market work was by far the most frequently cited cause for nonenrollment, followed by lack of money. Lack of physical access to school was not a frequently cited constraint for children in any age group. In addition to poverty-reduction programs, mechanisms to encourage poor families to start their children’s schooling at age 7 may lead to fewer competing interests with regard to time allocation as children approach puberty and are compelled to assume adult work roles

This directory of information resources pulls together over 300 of the most practical and useful books, reports, videos, CD-ROMs and websites on disability. It is aimed at organisations working with disabled people in developing countries. Organised thematically, It covers a wide range of issues including human rights, gender, poverty and mainstreaming, as well as planning and management of disability programmes and service delivery relating to children, community-based rehabilitation, mental health and HIV and AIDS. The directory provides a quick reference listing of information resources with clear abstracts and details of distributors and websites, while the CD-ROM contains many published and un-published full-text documents, as well as links to websites for those who can access the Internet. The index of publishers and distributors will be especially useful to resource centres and information services which collect and manage information on disability and development

Research findings suggest that what happens to children early in life has a profound impact on their later achievement. This collection of articles focus on ethnicity and show that by focusing on essential aspects of children's lives before they enter school, we might ultimately be able to close the racial and ethnic gaps in educational outcomes

This Human Development Report focuses how development work can help build inclusive, culturally diverse societies -- both as a means to achieving other, more traditional development priorities, and as an end in itself. It examines and rejects the claim that cultural differences lead to social, economic and political conflict, and that cultural rights supercede political or economic rights (eg the right to education). The report acknowledges the importance of legislative recognition of diverse cultural backgrounds, but stipulates that, to achieve real change, political culture has to change as well: people need to think , feel and act in a way that respects and values the needs of others. Finally, it considers the threats and opportunities presented by globalisation, in terms of the intellectual property of indigenous people; cultural goods markets; and emerging and established multicultural societies