Media Captivated by New PAI Report, A Measure of Survival!

Reporters in the United Kingdom were captivated by PAI's new report, A Measure of Survival: Calculating Women's Sexual and Reproductive Risk, which was released in London on October 18 in conjunction with the global women's health conference, Women Deliver.  The report ranks 130 countries worldwide according to sexual and reproductive risk—illustrating the harsh reality of being a poor woman in a poor country. 

Some of the coverage included:
BBC News: Why Women Still Die to Give Birth
Times Online: Slovenia beats Britain in safe births league
Telegraph: Britian Worst for Teenage Pregnancy

Learn more about this exciting new report:
Amy Coen's RH Reality Check blog: Women at Risk: A Measure of Survival
Download A Measure of Survival
Viewpoint: A Measure of Survival: Where are Women at Highest Reproductive Risk?
What's Your Number? Reproductive Risk Index—Country Rankings
Order a copy

Congressional Hearing on the Global Gag Rule to be Held October 31st

Congress's attention will turn to the damaging effects of the Global Gag Rule at an important hearing next week. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs is the venue for the October 31st hearing where witnesses will testify on the Gag Rule's impact on family planning and reproductive health efforts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Witnesses will include: Duff Gillespie, PhD (former Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Global Health Bureau at USAID and current PAI Board member); Ejike Oji, MD (Country Director, Ipas-Nigeria); and Joana Nerquaye-Tetteh, PhD (former Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana). This hearing is a long-overdue opportunity for Congress to better understand the real-life, destructive consequences of the Gag Rule on women and children and to hear first-hand how this restriction's cut-off of family planning services is increasing maternal death rates and the number of unwanted pregnancies. The hearing is especially well-timed as President Bush threatens to make good on his promise to veto the entire Fiscal Year 2008 foreign assistance spending bill over a provision that exempts contraceptives from the Gag Rule's restrictions.

The hearing is open to the public and will be held at 10 a.m. on October 31st in room 2172 of the Rayburn Building.

Viewpoint: The Damaging Effects of the Global Gag Rule
Viewpoint:  Appropriating Women's Lives
Watch Access Denied: U.S. Family Planning Restrictions in Zambia to learn more about the devastating effects of the Global Gag Rule

The Shape of Things to Come Brings Together Experts

PAI's study, The Shape of Things to Come: Why Age Structure Matters to a Safer, More Equitable World, was the centerpiece of a briefing and panel discussion at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars earlier this month. The event drew a distinguished panel of experts, including a Member of Congress and the heads of both the Henry Stimson Center and the Population Reference Bureau. 

If you missed the event, watch the video online or read a summary of the event!
Viewpoint: Impact the Shape of Things to Come: Invest in Women and Youth
Download The Shape of Things to Come and its FactSheet
Order a copy of The Shape of Things to Come

Abstaining from Reality Premieres at the 2007 United Nations Association Film Festival This Week!

PAI’s powerful documentary, Abstaining from Reality: U.S. Restrictions on HIV Prevention, was one of only 32 films selected for the prestigious United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF), happening this week at Stanford University!  According to UNAFF, the film festival "celebrates the power of films and videos dealing with human rights, environmental survival, women’s issues, protection of refugees, homelessness, racism, disease control, universal education, war and peace."

If you still haven't seen it, watch Abstaining from Reality on YouTube!
Read more about the documentary
Order a copy
Support the effort to overturn these destructive policies by making a donation online.

What Compels People to Give?

During one of our recent meetings here at PAI, we found ourselves pondering the ironic fact that images of puppies and other cute animals seem to attract more donations from individuals than those for women and children. Why is it that even though women’s issues directly affect more than half of the world’s population, and indirectly impact everyone on the planet, women and children seems to come in second or third to the world’s animals when it comes to charitable donations? As a recent blog posting on the Washington Post website pondered, perhaps it is because women and children “will eventually grow past the level of helplessness that pets never lose in our estimation.” Yet women continue to be disproportionally vulnerable to disease, war, and emotional burden, even though much of the world continues to ignore their plight.

Read the full article

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