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Watch the new Family Planning Video!

Advocate for Family Planning

PBS News discusses issues surrounding Family Planning

         PBS News recently covered a story about the factors that influence family planning in Guatemala. Religious opposition, gender inequality (machismo), limited access to contraceptives and other family planning services and education make it difficult for women to take control of their reproductivity. This video highlights these issues along with the negative effects of not being able to plan families such as poor maternal health, maternal deaths, child malnutrition and decreased overall health and stability. Family Planning organizations recognize that this is an issue deeply ingrained within some communities and is therefore important to start teaching youth about sexual and reproductive health early so that they are comfortable with the topic. There is still a long way to go, but Evelyn (a family planning educator with WINGS) provides hope as she travels to rural areas to speak with women about these issues.

What can we be doing to make family planning education and services more readily available to communities like these?

GEL Ecomarket & Transition Guelph

Sustainability week is coming to a close, and to finish off we attended the GEL Eco-market downtown Guelph at St. Georges Anglican Church. This event was a showcase and connection opportunity for 'green' businesses, local non-profits and municipal initiatives working toward sustainability and community resilience. This was part of Resilience 2011, a festival coinciding with S-week at the University and Earth day (March 26th 8:30-9:30) organized through Transition Guelph (which we encourage you to look into). Transition Guelph stems from transition initiatives, which are emerging and evolving approaches to community-level sustainability. They are starting to appear in several parts of the world, and Guelph hopes to be the second transition town initiative in Canada! Go to the Transition Guelph Website  to find out more about these 'scalable microcosms of hope.' Resilience 2011 is an opportunity to connect people within the community of Guelph and promote Transition Guelph.

The planners of the Resilience 2011 festival highlight that:

"Our intention for the Festival is to capture the community's imagination - to inform, build momentum, and inspire people to take action to help build resilience, both personally and in the community at large. What's more, we want to celebrate the great work that is already being done by the many organizations, businesses and individuals who are taking steps to make Guelph a sustainable, resilient community, for ourselves and for our children."

We had the opportunity to talk to many people from the Guelph community about family planning and how it can contribute to a more sustainable planet.


What steps can you take to make our community more sustainable and resilient for the future generations?

Condoms are a girl's (and guy's!) best friend

Contraceptives come in a variety of forms that are adaptable to a person’s medical history, lifestyle and personal preferences. Condoms, in particular, provide their users with a host of benefits including reduced risk of pregnancy, protection from STI’s and HIV/AIDS.

Unlike many other types of contraceptives, they are generally accessible without a prescription, are extremely portable and only require to be used at the time of a sexual interaction (unlike hormone regulating contraceptives that need to be taken daily, monthly etc.)

Condoms are visible to both partners, which allow both parties a sense of security and control in reducing risk associated with sex. In this way, the responsibility of safe sex becomes a mutual agreement and a shared act – opposed to putting the onus of protected sex on solely one of the partners. This is an important component of sexual education, and empowerment amongst both males and females. Reducing the likelihood of transmission of STI’s, HIV/AIDS, or unwanted pregnancy should never be seen as solely a ‘male’ or ‘female’ problem. A sense of transparency within a sexual relationship enables both partners to work towards equality within their sexual relationship. Additionally, using a visible contraceptive can spur discussion between partners and help to reduce stigma associated with condom use.

Despite the potential for the use of condoms to improve both the health and decision making power of both parties involved in a sexual relationship – we must recognize that gender rojavascript:void(0)les, cultural norms and poverty all impact an individual’s ability to make choices and to act on those choices. It is for these reasons that access to reproductive and sexual education and contraceptives is so important. By encouraging discussion around contraceptive use we can start to bring the barriers to safe sex to light

World Water Day 2011

World Water Day is March 22, and each year a new theme related to issues surrounding water is highlighted. World Water Day 2011 is looking at the challenges presented by growing urban populations: 

 

"The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems." 

"This year theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management" 

These are just a few facts highlighted by World Water Day 2011: 

- This is the first time in human history that most of the world's population live in cities: 3.3 billion people... and the urban landscape continues to grow 

- 38% of growth is represented by expanding slums, while the city populations are increasing faster than city infrastructure can adapt

- Every second the urban population grows by 2 people

- 493 million people share their sanitation facilities 

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This is a very complex and pressing issue. We believe it is important to take a multi-faceted approach to handling this type of complex problem. 

How can family planning - access to resources and education allowing women and couples to choose the number of children they wish to have and when- help to alleviate this problem?