Family Planning

A Q&A with MSI’s Marjorie Newman-Williams One of US President Trump’s first moves in office was signing an Executive Order to bring back the Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule. The policy bars non-US organizations overseas from…

Countries facing Zika outbreaks could drastically reduce the rate of infection by expanding reproductive health and family planning programs to include men, argue NIH researchers. Such programs have historically been geared almost exclusively toward women, they say.   The…

The Indian government last week announced plans to add injectable contraceptives to its slate of free, state-sanctioned birth control options, following decades of controversy. Women’s rights groups in India have fought widespread use of injectables since 1986, citing…

A recent clinical trial of a male contraceptive—an injectable hormone—looked promising, but an independent committee halted the trial because of side effects including “mood changes, depression, pain at the injection site, and increased libido.”

Melinda Gates believes helping women in developing countries access contraception could break the cycle of poverty for many.   The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which Gates leads with her husband, has invested more than $1 billion on family planning and will spend…

Melinda Gates believes helping women in developing countries access contraception could break the cycle of poverty for many.   The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which Gates leads with her husband, has invested more than $1 billion on family planning and will spend…

Female market porters in Accra, Ghana—known as kayayei—often lack traditional community and family ties, making them especially vulnerable to sexual abuse, assault and unplanned pregnancies.   Many of these women and girls—some as young as 10—turn to DIY abortions in a…

In DRC, only 1/2 of all married women use any contraception. In Burkina Faso, the use of long-acting reversible contraception is on the uptick.  

Ugandan women are embracing family planning more than ever thanks to Sayana Press, a self-injectable, progestin-only contraceptive taken once every 3 months. Developed by global health nonprofit PATH, the $1-per-dose shot is so easy to use that 95% of Ugandan women surveyed…

Engaging young people in family planning programs and advocacy is essential to achieving the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) goal of enabling 120 million more women and girls to have voluntary access to contraceptives by 2020. That is why the family planning community tapped…