Pathfinder International "Fingers Crossed" Ad Starts The Conversation

by Jen Nedeau · 2009-08-23 07:00:00 UTC
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This weekend, New York Times Magazine is taking a special look at issues facing women in the developing world. The Magazine is examining how individual women have overcome incredible odds, but also how society can support women and turn oppression into opportunity.

In this same issue, Pathfinder International, will be featuring an advertisement that really gets to the heart of the reproductive health care debate and how we cannot afford to make women's choice about....

According to Online and New Media Editor at Pathfinder International, Jaime-Alexis Fowler, this is a critical conversation starter to discuss one of the greatest risks for women: lack of access to quality reproductive health care. When women have access to basics like birth control and maternal care, they can not only survive, but thrive, and are empowered to contribute to their families and communities. However, more than 200 million women currently lack access to birth control and with half the world's population - 3.5 billion people - under the age of 25 (and becoming sexually active), that number is only increasing.

Pathfinder believes reproductive health care is a basic human right. In 2008, Pathfinder supported nearly 18 million family planning and reproductive health service visits, reached more than 104 million people through community education events and training, and built the capacity of more than 165,000 providers, community stakeholders and community and religious leaders.

Pathfinder reports that unsafe sex is the second most important risk factor for disability and death among young people in the world's poorest communities, and yet in the US, it is not being talked about.

As Jaime-Alexis wrote in an email to me this past week: "We need to have real, productive conversations about how to address this. And we need to dedicate resources to help with it."

I couldn't agree more. Thanks to Pathfinder for using their resources to start the conversation. Now, will you continue it?

Jen Nedeau Jen Nedeau is a media relations professional and a writer based in New York City.
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