Free Birth Control for Philly Teens

The Covid-19 pandemic complicated health care for women living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Nigeria who already lacked access to family planning services and education, but collaborative efforts are working to change this. Through collective action, a group of non-profits worked together to create a one-day outreach event that provided education and trained community members to carry on the work.

Making reproductive health care a part of a woman’s primary care expands opportunities for proactive family planning. Delaware nonprofit, Upstream, partners with health care systems to increase access to information and contraceptive options. Upstream provides training sessions in women’s reproductive health care for people working across the health care system. The nonprofit remains independent by sustaining itself through private donations and grants.

More than 300 million women and girls don't have access to the hygiene products they need because of taboos and a lack of resources. Education is helping change that, as are organizations that provide sanitary pads.

Colorado causes a large decline in teen pregnancy and abortions by implementing free, long-term birth control to prevent pregnancy. While demonstrating massive success, its continuity is in the air considering the ongoing fight over health insurance at the federal level.

In the Philipines, contraception has been hard to find resulting in many parents without money to feed their children, unsafe abortions, and poor maternal health. A new reproductive law aims to change this by allowing contraception in clinics to help women take control of their reproductive systems.

Village Health Teams are groups of community health workers helping rural women access family planning services. They travel from home to home offering counseling, education and connection to the resources women need but struggle to access, including condoms and pills, often all without having to visit a health facility. VHTs have reached several thousand residents, both with short and long-term contraceptive methods.

In Liberia, Youth Friendly Centers, or YFCs, offer family planning resources and education in an attempt to lower the country’s rates of teen pregnancy. The centers have improved access to family planning methods such as implants and contraceptive shots, and the rate of teenage pregnancies has dropped by about 8 percent.

be artsy's Rato Baltin project uses culturally relevant education, menstrual kit distribution, and engages religious leaders to challenge discriminatory practices against those who menstruate. Since launching in 2017, the group has reached 80,000 people and distributed over 5,500 menstrual cups, while simultaneously helping shift perspectives around menstruating.

She Deserves Uganda provides menstrual hygiene education to young girls and an organic aromatherapy solution to pain from period cramps they call The Cramp Relief Droppers, as a safer and more affordable alternative to traditional over-the-counter painkillers. The group has provided menstrual health education to over 10,000 girls across 50 schools and has distributed over 1,540 units of The Cramp Relief Droppers.

The Inspire Women, Men and Children (IWMC) youth empowerment group is teaching women and young girls how to construct reusable sanitary pads in an effort to address period poverty and prevent them from missing school and work during menstruation. The group follows up with students to ensure they’ve properly constructed pads with safe materials and also further educates teachers on how to provide support to students who menstruate.