From London to Hyderabad: A Measure of Survival Goes Worldwide! 

October was an important month for revitalizing international attention to sexual and reproductive health, first with the Women Deliver Conference in London on October 18-20, followed by the Global Safe Abortion Conference also in London on October 23-24, and culminating in the Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health, held in Hyderabad, India on October 28-31.

PAI staff participated in all three of these events, rolling out our new report, A Measure of Survival: Calculating Women's Sexual and Reproductive Risk, along the way. The report is a valuable research and advocacy tool that provides a comprehensive index of women’s reproductive health status at the country level detailing the vast disparities in health access between the rich and the poor.

At Women Deliver, A Measure of Survival was featured in the Speaker’s Corner, as well as in an extremely well-attended workshop that discussed how advocates can use the report in their own communities. Amy Coen, PAI's President and CEO, also delivered the closing remarks at a plenary called "Shaping the Future - No More Business as Usual."

Amy Coen delivering closing remarks at the plenary "Shaping the Future - No More Business as Usual"

PAI's next stop was the Global Safe Abortion Conference.  This event marked the first time an entire conference was dedicated to the issue of unsafe abortion – a critical issue which globally accounts for 13 percent of maternal mortality. There were about 800 participants and a packed, yet focused two-day agenda. The large potential for increasing access to medical abortion was a re-occurring theme of the conference. PAI collaborated with colleagues from Pathfinder International and the Centre for the Study of Adolescence in Kenya, in a session to discuss the future of the Global Gag Rule. The panel provided a space for strategic discussion amongst US non-government organizations (NGOs) and those NGOs who have felt the impact of the policy.

After these two landmark conferences in London, PAI policy and research staff moved on to Hyderabad, India, where they presented during three panels at the 4th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (APCRSH). PAI shared findings from A Measure of Survival, as well as our analyses of the impact of U.S. policy in Cambodia and Vietnam and on the role of Cambodia's successful condom program in curtailing HIV/AIDS.

PAI also cosponsored and prepared materials for a Youth Cafe, an initiative developed by members of the Asia Pacific Alliance (APA) designed as a space to allow youth to learn about SRHR, connect with colleagues and discuss their objectives for attending the conference. PAI prepared an interactive CD as a tool to engage and inform young people, using new data from A Measure of Survival. As a founding  member of APA, PAI policy staff stayed on after the conference for a meeting of the APA steering committee to discuss the future strategic direction of the regional alliance. In the next couple of years, APA will transition from the establishment phase to a coalition that is invested in working on SRHR global initiatives in the Asia Pacific region.

While in India, PAI staff also met with a handful of Indian NGOs about U.S. family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH) and HIV/AIDS programming and policy. NGOs report that restrictive U.S. policies are affecting FP/RH services and programs, particularly the coordination of SRHR and HIV/AIDS efforts. Some NGOs have decided to do without U.S. assistance altogether due to these policies. PAI will follow up with key Indian and U.S. NGOs in a few states where U.S. assistance is most active, as part of our ongoing work documenting the consequences of U.S. policy.