Routledge Women's Health in Africa: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities

This edited book includes new policy-relevant research on women’s health issues in Africa. Scholars explore critical topics from different disciplinary traditions using a variety of research methodologies and data sources. The contributors include African scholars with in-depth knowledge of their home contexts, who can furnish nuanced interpretations of local health issues and trends; international researchers who bring vigorous comparative viewpoints; emerging scholars adding to scientific knowledge; and more established researchers with a deep global knowledge of women’s health issues. The range of women’s health issues is vast, including the HIV epidemic and its impacts; domestic violence; the persistence of homebirths; and abortion. In addition, the book investigates emerging health concerns such as CVDs and cancers. Readers will learn that, while old health issues have persisted and assumed new dimensions, newer concerns have materialized and are now gaining momentum. The inability of health systems to tackle these issues complicates matters in Africa, creating a sense of desperation that can only be successfully confronted through strong political will and strategic planning, grounded in further research. The chapters in this book were originally published in the journal Health Care for Women International. About the Author Chimaraoke O. Izugbara is Director of the Research Capacity Strengthening Division and Head of Population Dynamics and Reproductive Health at the African Population and Health Research Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. Eleanor Krassen Covan is Professor Emerita in the School of Health and Applied Human Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Health Care for Women International. Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock is Interim Coordinator of the Gerontology Program at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA. She is the Managing Editor of Health Care for Women International.