Today is World Contraception Day (WCD). It’s been organized by the European Society of Contraception since September 2007. According to WomanCare Global, it is a global campaign that recognizes the importance of access to contraception for women around the world” and has a “mission to…
… improve awareness of contraception while empowering young people to make informed decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health. The event also promotes the availability of accurate, unbiased information to prevent unplanned pregnancies.”
This year, in honor of WCD the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has offered a blog series on global youth perspectives edited by Women Deliver in partnership with Impatient Optimists. It is part of a much grander effort; as I am sure you know, global health, which includes family planning, which means access to contraception, is Melinda Gates’ signature mission.
It’ s not just a one day event; the European Society of Contraception says that WCD’s mission will focus over the next 12 months on “empowering young people to think ahead and build contraception into their future plans, in order to prevent an unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection (STI).”
The WCD has a great website for young people called Your Life that is a comprehensive information portal. But one of the most inspiring sites I have seen in the spirit of this day is “There is No Controversy In Contraceptives.” It has vignettes from young people from all over the world, answering this question: “How have contraceptives changed your life?”
Today, I encourage you to do one thing to support the WCD mission. It could be as simple as forwarding Your Life website info to a young person you know. Or donate to an organization dedicated to global contraceptive education and access. Being even just a small part of the global effort to empower responsible reproduction not only helps individuals all over the world, but contributes to the betterment of the world at large!