Updates

By: Joanna Hoffman, Women Deliver

Sixteen-year old Aparna Bhola may be young, but she is also a confident, knowledgable teacher to the teenage girls that gather for her sex education class. She is a member of Kranti, an organization based in Nepal and India that provides women rescued from prostitution and their daughters with education and new opportunities. Her mother, Malti, was a sex worker, and often struggled to access medical treatment and better opportunities in the face of violence and discrimination. Malti’s story is not uncommon—in 2009, it was estimated that 3 million women are trafficked through India every year. Read more...

By: Idrissa A. Conteh, Women Deliver 100 Young Leader from Sierra Leone

This blog is part of a series, edited by Women Deliver, in partnership with Impatient Optimists, on youth perspectives to celebrate World Contraception Day. Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation at #WCD2012. For more stories and to get involved further visit No Controversy.

In Sierra Leone, general knowledge about sexual and reproductive health is terribly low. Limited understanding about sexual health among youth is a major obstacle that restricts young people’s access to contraception and other critical reproductive health services. Read more...

By: Rati Bishnoi

For the thousands of Kenyan girls participating in the Moving the Goalposts sports program in Kilifi district, Kenya, playing soccer is not just a physical exercise. Instead, participating in the girls-only sports program is an exercise in learning to be confident, growing into leaders, and re-envisioning a world in which girls can do just as much as—and be just as respected as—boys. Read more...

Excerpt of a blog by Keli Goff, author of The GQ Candidate and a Contributing Editor for Loop21.com

Below is a list of the most powerful ways contraception has impacted and continues to impact the world, from issues such as literacy to life expectancy rates of women. 

1. In countries with the highest fertility rates, women have the shortest life expectancies.

Women in Sierra Leone live half as long as women in developed countries and 10 years less than their African counterparts in some African countries, and no, this is not merely due to the history of civil unrest. One in eight Sierra Leonean women dies in childbirth. In other countries like Chad, where women are likely to give birth to six or more children, women are lucky to live to age 55. Read more...

By: Rati Bishnoi, Special Projects Intern

Despite continued commercial availability for more than 15 years and ongoing efforts to increase global accessibility, a massive unmet demand for female condoms still exists today. High prices—up to 30 times the price of a male condom in some places—and limited or irregular access have kept the only female-initiated contraceptive method out of reach of many women.

In particular, female condoms act as a “barrier” contraceptive, which means they physically prevent sperm from entering the uterus. Unlike other barrier contraceptives, female condoms also protect the inside and outside of the vagina, thus preventing sexually transmitted infections. Greater access to the female condom for both women and men will increase the instances of protected sex and lead to the reduction of unintended pregnancies, maternal deaths caused by unsafe abortions, and help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. To help prevent these tragedies, last month on World AIDS Day, the United Kingdom committed 5 million pounds for the distribution of female condoms in Africa. Read more...

By: Madeline Taskier, Strategic Partnerships Associate at Women Deliver

In Egypt, young girls living in rural areas often do not have the opportunity to attend school. Instead, they help their families and are socially isolated due to conservative gender norms. They often marry young and have little access to public life, as they are confined to the home to raise children and take care of their households. These girls have little access to health care, education, or peers in their communities. To break the cycle of this isolation and enable these girls to reach their full potential, the Population Council launched Ishraq  (meaning “sunrise” in Arabic) in 2001. The program brings adolescent girls from Upper Egypt together in youth centers and provides training to improve their educational, health, and social opportunities. Read more...

By: Jill Sheffield, Founder and President of Women Deliver
Originally posted by The Huffington Post

This past month, the world met a milestone. We officially live in a world of seven billion people -- an impressive figure that drives home just how much responsibility we all have to take care of our globe, ourselves and each other. This benchmark has sparked many conversations anew, from the impact of population on the environment to the undeniable importance of contraception. But as UNFPA's recently launched State of the World's Population 2011 report points out, a world of seven billion is not a time to ask, "Are we too many?" but rather, "What can I do to make our world better?" Read more...

By: Stuart Halford, Advocacy Officer, International Planned Parenthood Federation

(This editorial reflects the thoughts and views of the author, and not necessarily those of the International Planned Parenthood Federation)

Late last year, Yemen, on behalf of the G77, and China put forward a resolution that was adopted by the General Assembly. The resolution entitled “Follow-up to the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014”extended the Programme of Action (PoA) and called for an United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in 2014, to assess the status of ICPD’s implementation. It noted that the goals and objectives of the ICPD remained valid beyond 2014, but that many governments were still not on track to achieving them. Read more...

By: Rati Bishnoi, Special Projects Intern

The West African nation of Senegal has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world—with 410 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. Considering an estimated five children are born per woman, it is clear that the health and safety of women in the country greatly depend on their ability to control if and when they have children.

Despite prevailing views placing emphasis on the value of larger families, more Senegalese are choosing to space their births, have fewer children, and seek long-term family planning options, Fatou Seck, a midwife at Hospital Centre for Health and Hygiene in Medina, Senegal, recently told IRIN News. Read more...

By: Lindsey Taylor Wood, Communications Associate

In Northern Nigeria, 1 in 23 women will die in pregnancy or childbirth. In fact, 10% of maternal deaths, globally, occur there; and rates of newborn and child mortality are also amongst the highest in the world. Read more...

Get Involved: Add Your Own Perspectives At The Conversations For A Better World Blog Series

What Is The Difference Between How Young Women And Men Learn About And Access Birth Control Methods? And Why?

By: Yunuén Flores, Director of the Gender Program

I’m a young female activist and even more importantly, I live in a Latin American country: Mexico. I come from a culture that is patriarchal, machista, religious and full of taboos. Ah, and I already told you that I’m a woman! So I have lived my life with different rules than the men in my community, typecast by social norms that we ourselves have created. Read more...

By: Mariko Rasmussen, public health student at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in Reproductive and Family Health.

Get Involved: Add Your Own Perspectives At The Conversations For A Better World Blog Series

They say kids in Los Angeles grow up fast. Sitting across from a girlfriend over lunch the summer after my sophomore year of high school, I learned there could be truth in this statement. Following a pause in our conversation, she admitted her real reason for calling to see me – she’d had an abortion a few weeks prior. I sat in disbelief. We were fifteen. Read more...

Get Involved: Add Your Own Perspectives At The Conversations For A Better World Blog Series

By: Dalia Al-Eryani, one of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders

A little over a year ago, I was working to raise awareness regarding the safe age of marriage in a small rural village in the mountains of Yemen. One of our biggest supporters was, Fatima, an old woman from the community who hosted our team meetings in her home every month with her family. Fatima couldn’t have been that old really, but the hardship she had endured in her life left her looking like a fragile old woman with sun-kissed cracked brown skin, tired eyes and a big heart. One morning our meeting ended early and she sat down to talk to us. She hugged her legs to her chest and began telling us why she believed in what we were doing. Read more...

Get Involved: Add Your Own Perspectives At The Conversations For A Better World Blog Series

By: Janna Oberdorf, Director of Communications and Outreach at Women Deliver

Happy World Contraception Day! If you haven’t heard of World Contraception Day, welcome, get excited, and tune in. The theme this year is “Live your life, know your rights. Learn about contraception.” It’s a pretty simple slogan but it has a powerful implication.

Young people have the right to access accurate and unbiased information about contraception and safe sex, which they need to prevent unwanted pregnancies, STIs, and improve their lives in a number of ways. But they don’t often know that, or they can’t realize those rights. We are trying to change that. Read more...