HIV and AIDS strike more African women than men, and the consequences of being open about one’s disease may be greater for women. Norwegian researchers have looked at how this affects whether women in Malawi show up for prenatal check-ups.

Getting pregnant can be dangerous, if you are poor and live in a country where women are little valued. In Somalia and Sierra Leone, every seventh woman dies during pregnancy. Berit Austveg, specialist in community medicine, has written a book about what she calls the world’s greatest social injustice: maternal mortality.