Witchcraft Laws, Abortion Misinformation, and Wintertime Injuries

Editor's Note

Kenya's elderly population is already exceeding UN projections, and many women are outliving their spouses, resulting in a surge of female-led households. Meanwhile, 80% of the country's citizens are younger than 35. As those young adults compete for employment, some are using a colonial-era anti-witchcraft law to justify the murder of elderly women to secure housing and other resources, explains journalist Frank Burkybile.

Next, as people in the Northern Hemisphere head into the winter season, cooling temperatures alongside unaffordable heating costs are raising the risk of injury for older adults and other vulnerable groups, warns a group of researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Turning to a doubleheader on reproductive health, physician Maria Emilia Pianesi checks in on Argentina three years after the country legalized abortion. Since the law passed, the number of abortion providers has doubled and teenage pregnancies have declined by 50%.

To explore the issue in another country, TGH Research Associate Alejandra Martinez analyzes how misinformation and a lack of sexual education about the safety and efficacy of birth control in a post–Roe v. Wade United States is leaving more women at risk for unwanted pregnancies as state abortion bans emerge.

Until next week!—Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor