One Stop Contraception Shop

In many cultures, women are discouraged from discussing personal health issues and sexual concerns and the doctors they consult often lack a full understanding of this context. By providing support to patients and training to medical professionals, organizations throughout the greater Philadelphia area are "eager to help doctors close the gap" in their service to diverse communities.

Compared with other developed countries, the United States has a higher rate of teenage pregnancy. However, Colorado has collaborated with foundations, private donors, and has taken advantage of Obamacare’s coverage to offer free long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) for several years. The program providing LARCs has contributed to a drop in the teenage abortion rate, the teenage pregnancy rate, and fewer children born in poverty, all while being a cost-saving measure for taxpayers.

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.

Providing access to family planning and health services in addition to contraception leads to a reduction in unplanned and teen pregnancies. Colorado’s Family Planning Initiative has contributed to the state’s steep drop in unintended pregnancies and abortions during the past decade. The initiative trains healthcare workers, enrolls community partners, and uses outreach to normalize conversations about family planning.

In the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica, a non-profit is donating IUDs to women, acknowledging that the lack of access to contraception and family planning services is part of a cycle of poverty for many women and families. So far, paired with education about the process and based off of similar programs in the U.S. and other countries, organizations have helped 60 women receive IUDs.

The Nigerian state of Oyo has a modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) of 24%, which is the highest in the country compared to the national average of 10.8%. This can be attributed to family planning services brought to citizens through a fruitful partnership between government efforts and outside partners like nonprofit Marie Stopes International Organization of Nigeria (MSION). Since 2013 MSION has helped bring an influx of new family planning information and media outreach, improve clinic facilities and services, offer counseling for pre- and postnatal care, and much more.

Family planning is crucial to fighting against poverty. However, many women cannot afford contraceptives. The United Nations Fund for Population Activities is now supporting the Zimbabwe government to provide women with affordable services supporting reproductive health.

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.

A Colorado program reduced the state’s teen birth rate by 40 percent by providing young women with long-acting reversible birth control.

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.