Michaela has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Global Health from the George Washington University. She resides in Rhode Island where she is employed at a local hospital as a HIV/hepatitis C Clinical Research Assistant. In 2007, Michaela traveled to Malawi, Africa as the inaugural recipient of the Americans for UNFPA Student Award. She is an advocate for the health and rights of women all over the world.
Michaela Maynard
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I support women and women’s reproductive health. Do you?
March 11, 2011 by
Tuesday, March 8, 2011, marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a global event celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women. Despite the progress that has been made over the last 100 years, women’s rights, specifically the right to health, are still at stake. In February, the United States House of Representatives passed a budget which may severely impact the health and rights of women. The bill includes the elimination of Title X Funding and the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood. The Title X Family … [Read more...]
Survival Sex, HIV, and what the US Government is doing about it
February 23, 2011 by
Prostitution, sex work, brothels- in the US, we don’t like to talk about these things. The sex work industry is considered taboo; prostitution is illegal and transactional sex is associated with stigma. But for some, sex work is a means of survival. In 2007, I had the privilege of meeting a group of inspiring Malawian women, all of whom just happened to be employed as female sex workers. Ranging in age, with the youngest being just 17 years old, many of the women had entered the sex work industry as teenagers. Although prostitution is illegal … [Read more...]
The Children of Sex Workers: A “New” Vulnerable Population
February 9, 2011 by
As one of the most-at-risk populations, female sex workers (FSWs) have long been a target of public health interventions aimed at reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS. Historically, research has been focused on FSWs themselves, with hardly any attention directed toward the vulnerabilities placed on the children of FSWs. In an article published in the July issue of the Journal of International AIDS society, Beard and colleagues reviewed the literature to assess the vulnerabilities affecting the children of FSWs and injection drug users and to describe … [Read more...]
How much does it cost to save a life?
January 20, 2011 by
$11. No, you didn’t read wrong, in fact, $11 would actually save three lives. A donation of $11 to UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) provides three emergency birthing kits to laboring mothers in need. According to the World Health Organization, 1,000 women die every day due to preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Although confronting the issue of global maternal mortality can seem like a daunting task, there are available simple, inexpensive interventions that have the ability to save lives. Clean delivery kits (also known … [Read more...]
What are you thankful for?
December 3, 2010 by
The spirit of Thanksgiving has inspired me to reflect on all of the things in my life that I am grateful for. This reflection has reminded me that there are many things that I take for granted on a day-to-day basis, including my right to sexual and reproductive health. The right to health, and especially reproductive health, is far from a reality for many women in the world. Among women of childbearing age, reproductive health problems remain the leading cause of ill health and death worldwide. Everyone deserves proper healthcare, but there are … [Read more...]
Is D.I.Y. Foreign Aid Really Enough?
October 28, 2010 by
Nicholas Kristof coined the phrase in his article, published in the New York Times Magazine this past Sunday: “Do-It-Yourself” Foreign Aid; it’s a shift from the usual ‘wealthy country’ gives to ‘poor country’ to improve health and development. Mr. Kristof introduces readers to several of these D.I.Y. individuals: a woman working to manufacture sanitary pads in Rwanda, so that females will not have to miss work or school because they are menstruating; a 23-year old who developed a children’s shelter in Nepal, a mission that started with … [Read more...]
“The sun should not rise or set twice on a woman in labor.” -African proverb
October 22, 2010 by
For each minute that it takes you to read this post, a woman is dying in labor, and for every birthing death, twenty more women are left suffering from disability. Obstetric fistula is the most devastating of all pregnancy-related disabilities. Worldwide, the condition affects over two million women. Obstetric fistula results from prolonged, obstructed labor without access to timely medical care, typically a caesarean section. During prolonged labor, the positioning of the baby and the pressure of the infant’s head can result in damage to the organs … [Read more...]
Girl Power: education and empowerment
October 6, 2010 by
By Michaela Maynard Michaela is one of AIDemocracy’s 2010-2011 Issue Analysts. Find out more about Michaela below or take a look at the Student Issue Analysts. I don’t give it much thought when I pick up my birth control pills each month from the pharmacy. I know that if I need them, I can walk to the store and buy condoms. On Tuesday nights, I watch MTV’s 16 and Pregnant. As young Americans, we have the luxury of living in a society where reproductive health is accessible and topics like sex are becoming less taboo. Unfortunately, other … [Read more...]
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