Dying in poverty, living in slavery

On the occasion of World Poverty Day tomorrow and the European Day Against Human Trafficking on Sunday, Pink takes the opportunity to highlight that 500,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth, primarily in Africa and Asia, and 1.8 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade.

The women's magazine, which is distributed with The Times tomorrow, lends a hand with a campaign that seeks a dead end to the sex trafficking of children and adolescents and should be keeping governments in check as regards their moves to eradicate such atrocities on the most vulnerable.

Featuring a focus on the world's third largest criminal activity and what is being done about it, PINK highlights that although Malta has no records of child trafficking, it is considered to be a "receiving" nation for young women from eastern European countries, and there is no guarantee that it will remain immune to this phenomenon.

Nevertheless, without evidence of a clear need, adopting a national plan on human trafficking is considered to be premature.

As regards the other shocking figure, the women who die in pregnancy and childbirth usually succumb to problems that would not be qualified as such in developed countries. Pink brings out the link between reproductive health and poverty reduction, and the stark contrast between good medical care that saves the lives of helplessly sick babies and the lack of it that sees otherwise healthy mothers and children die off.

It being Breast Cancer Awareness month, the new PinkProfile section offers a mini-focus on the disease, offering tips on how to choose a wig when hair falls out. One brave woman, in-between her chemo sessions, agrees to model a variety to see what suits her best, and the women who offer end-of-life care talk about how and why they do it, while retaining their own sanity.

This month also marked World Arthritis Day, and Pink has not ignored the one per cent of the world's population - double the number of women than men - who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. Actress and activist Jane Seymour tells readers that, thanks to biological treatments, patients need not write themselves off.

Published by Allied Newspapers Ltd and printed by Progress Press Ltd, Pink's executive editor is Fiona Galea Debono. The magazine is produced by MediaMaker and designed by Helen Cassar Torreggiani and Joseph Schembri.