All Access Monthly is PAI's summary of the latest family planning and reproductive health news and updates.

A Modest Proposal—The President’s FY 2017 Budget Request For International Family Planning

The President’s budget request for fiscal year 2017 (FY17) proposes a modest—but important—increase in funding for international family planning and reproductive health programs. Advocates will be working diligently with champions on Capitol Hill to ensure that Congress approves at least that amount during the appropriations process. But in a contentious presidential election year and a truncated congressional session, the task will not be easy. Read this month's Washington Memo for an in-depth analysis of the proposed FY17 budget.

PAI Remembers the Inimitable Robin Chandler Duke

The Directors, officers, and staff of PAI mourn the loss of our former board member Robin Chandler Duke. Throughout her leadership of PAI, she was committed to expanding access to vital family planning and reproductive health services for millions of women and couples around the globe. Read more about Mrs. Duke's life and service to women and girls everywhere.

Telling Women in Latin America to Avoid Pregnancy is Ironic and Insulting

Imagine that you live in a country where a horrible new virus is causing birth defects in children before they are born. It is such a dangerous situation that other, more powerful countries have warned women who are currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the next two years not to travel to where you live. But you cannot leave. You can’t avoid the carrier of this virus, the mosquito, which is everywhere, and you have inadequate family planning resources. Read more from Vice President of Programs Elisha Dunn-Georgiou about the challenge thousands of Latin American women face as the Zika outbreak continues.

Future Reproductive Freedom Starts by Giving Youth a Seat at the Table

In developing countries, nearly one in every five girls becomes pregnant before her 18th birthday, putting her health severely at risk. In fact, complications due to pregnancy and birth are two of the leading causes of death for girls aged 15-19 globally. Young people constitute more than half of the world’s population. Their needs, their opportunities, and their choices not only define the world as we know

it, but how we want it. During last month's ICFP2016, PAI President and CEO Suzanne Ehlers and Women Deliver CEO Katja Iversen co-wrote an op-ed emphasizing the importance of engaging youth as partners in advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda. Read the op-ed here.

I Survived Being a Child Bride to Become a Champion for Women's Rights

In 2014, the African Union (AU) launched the first campaign of its kind to end child marriage in Africa by enhancing continental awareness of the harmful impact of child marriage and requiring states to take legal and social measures to stop the practice. Guest blogger Florence Machio catches-up with Soyata Maiga, the AU Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women at the first African Summit on Ending Child Marriage to discuss how she beat the odds to become a champion for women's rights. Read more about Commissioner Maiga's compelling story.

Power, Politics, and Money

Starting in 2014, a consortium of civil society organizations supported by PAI expanded on existing advocacy to increase Malawi’s budget for contraceptives and ensure that the funding allocated is properly spent. Learn moreabout the advocacy work of the consortium and the success they achieved in supporting family planning champions in Malawi's parliament.

The Real Cost of the Philippines Contraceptive Budget Cut

The Philippines started the new year cutting their budget for contraceptives, leaving an estimated 6.9 million of the 24.9 million women of reproductive age without access to free contraceptives. Of the women without access, approximately one million women in the poorest communities will have an unintended pregnancy. In a new blog post, research associate Taryn Couture discusses the impact of the cuts, taking a closer look at the implications and potential harmful outcomes. Learn more.

All Access Monthly is PAI's summary of the latest family planning and reproductive health news and updates.

A Modest Proposal—The President’s FY 2017 Budget Request For International Family Planning

The President’s budget request for fiscal year 2017 (FY17) proposes a modest—but important—increase in funding for international family planning and reproductive health programs. Advocates will be working diligently with champions on Capitol Hill to ensure that Congress approves at least that amount during the appropriations process. But in a contentious presidential election year and a truncated congressional session, the task will not be easy. Read this month's Washington Memo for an in-depth analysis of the proposed FY17 budget.

PAI Remembers the Inimitable Robin Chandler Duke

The Directors, officers, and staff of PAI mourn the loss of our former board member Robin Chandler Duke. Throughout her leadership of PAI, she was committed to expanding access to vital family planning and reproductive health services for millions of women and couples around the globe. Read more about Mrs. Duke's life and service to women and girls everywhere.

Telling Women in Latin America to Avoid Pregnancy is Ironic and Insulting

Imagine that you live in a country where a horrible new virus is causing birth defects in children before they are born. It is such a dangerous situation that other, more powerful countries have warned women who are currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the next two years not to travel to where you live. But you cannot leave. You can’t avoid the carrier of this virus, the mosquito, which is everywhere, and you have inadequate family planning resources. Read more from Vice President of Programs Elisha Dunn-Georgiou about the challenge thousands of Latin American women face as the Zika outbreak continues.

Future Reproductive Freedom Starts by Giving Youth a Seat at the Table

In developing countries, nearly one in every five girls becomes pregnant before her 18th birthday, putting her health severely at risk. In fact, complications due to pregnancy and birth are two of the leading causes of death for girls aged 15-19 globally. Young

people constitute more than half of the world’s population. Their needs, their opportunities, and their choices not only define the world as we know it, but how we want it. During last month's ICFP2016, PAI President and CEO Suzanne Ehlers and Women Deliver CEO Katja Iversen co-wrote an op-ed emphasizing the importance of engaging youth as partners in advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda. Read the op-ed here.

I Survived Being a Child Bride to Become a Champion for Women's Rights

In 2014, the African Union (AU) launched the first campaign of its kind to end child marriage in Africa by enhancing continental awareness of the harmful impact of child marriage and requiring states to take legal and social measures to stop the practice. Guest blogger Florence Machio catches-up with Soyata Maiga, the AU Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women at the first African Summit on Ending Child Marriage to discuss how she beat the odds to become a champion for women's rights. Read more about Commissioner Maiga's compelling story.

Power, Politics, and Money

Starting in 2014, a consortium of civil society organizations supported by PAI expanded on existing advocacy to increase Malawi’s budget for contraceptives and ensure that the funding allocated is properly spent. Learn moreabout the advocacy work of the consortium and the success they achieved in supporting family planning champions in Malawi's parliament.

The Real Cost of the Philippines Contraceptive Budget Cut

The Philippines started the new year cutting their budget for contraceptives, leaving an estimated 6.9 million of the 24.9 million women of reproductive age without access to free contraceptives. Of the women without access, approximately one million women in the poorest communities will have an unintended pregnancy. In a new blog post, research associate Taryn Couture discusses the impact of the cuts, taking a closer look at the implications and potential harmful outcomes. Learn more.