ADVOCACY: Policy Agenda

With more than 50 years of experience providing reproductive health services, Pathfinder believes it is critical to bring the real world impact of laws, policies, and programs on the lives of women and their families we work with to policymakers’ attention. Pathfinder directly advocates to Members of Congress, government officials, parliamentarians, and UN representatives on the behalf of those we serve, seeking to build support for international reproductive health and family planning programs, and champion laws and policies that advance women’s health and rights.

Our Issues:

Ensuring Reproductive Rights for All

Governments around the world recognized reproductive health as a fundamental human right at the landmark International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. Fifteen years later, many governments have failed to protect, respect, and realize this right. Pathfinder works to hold both developed and developing country governments accountable for their ICPD commitments to promote reproductive rights, and improve reproductive health and access to family planning services worldwide.              

Investing in Sexual and Reproductive Health

Hundreds of millions of women in developing countries lack access to basic reproductive health services, such as contraception. Globally, funding for these critical programs is declining. Pathfinder advocates both in the US and abroad for increased investment in sexual and reproductive health programs, ensuring women everywhere have full access to the life-saving and life-changing reproductive health care they both want and need.

Meeting Young People’s Needs  

Today’s generation of young people is the largest in history—more than half the world’s population is in, or entering, their reproductive years. Most of them live in developing countries and face enormous challenges: cultural pressures of early marriage and pregnancy, limited opportunities for education and employment, and increased risk of HIV infection. Pathfinder seeks to prioritize young people within broader international health and development efforts, ensuring their access to information and services necessary to make healthy sexual and reproductive choices.

Alleviating Poverty Around the Globe

Rapid population growth exacerbates conditions that already burden poor countries, including poverty, gender inequity, civil conflict, climate change, and large-scale health challenges such as high maternal and child mortality rates, and HIV and AIDS. Pathfinder knows investments in women are key to eradicating poverty and works to ensure reproductive health and family planning programs are maintained as a critical component of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Adopted by world leaders in 2000, the MDGs provide a framework for dramatically reducing poverty through international cooperation by 2015.

Integrating Health Services

Reproductive health and family planning services are paramount to preventing HIV and maternal mortality. To that end, Pathfinder advocates for the integration of reproductive health, maternal health, and HIV and AIDS programs. Integration helps to ensure women’s complete healthcare needs are addressed, ultimately improving the health outcomes and life chances of women and girls.

Increasing Access to Safe, Legal Abortion

Unsafe abortion is a critical public health and human rights issue. Each year, more than 78,000 women die from the consequences of unsafe abortion. Whether a woman lives or dies seeking an abortion is largely dependent upon where she lives, and the legality of the procedure. Pathfinder is committed to challenging laws and policies that restrict women’s access to safe abortion services. 

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