Population 8 Billion

What Stands Behind the Success of Family Planning? Community and Couples Dialogue

Episode Summary

In a world where nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended and more than 218 million women have an unmet need for birth control, it can be hard to feel hopeful. That said, there are plenty of ground-breaking examples of progress, from Guatemala to Kenya and the Philippines, in decreasing the unmet need for family planning, advancing gender equity and lowering birth rates.

Episode Notes

In this interview about family planning, Wame Jallow and Kathleen Mogelgaard, touch on:

How to dismantle patriarchal opposition to contraception through couples counseling and education
How to bridge community dialogue between providers and recipients of care, religious leaders, traditional leaders and policy-makers
How comprehensive sexuality education for children and adults helps dispel myths and misinformation about contraception
Why offering a wide variety of contraceptive methods to everyone everywhere helps tackle side effects and lead to long-term use of family planning
Ground-breaking examples of family planning in Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Guatemala, and the Philippines
What needs to be done so that women worldwide have universal access to sexual and reproductive health services

Wame Jallow is Vice President of International Programs at Population Media Center. She has over 20 years’ experience in global health-related programming in the areas of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, Hepatitis C, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health. Jallow is based in Botswana, from where she manages programs at the global, regional, and country levels, working within the civil society, public, and donor sectors.

Kathleen Mogelgaard is President and CEO of the Population Institute, a nonprofit that promotes universal access to family planning information, education, and services. She has been involved in sustainability research and advocacy with the Population Reference Bureau, PAI, Oxfam, World Resources Institute, and UN Population Fund.

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