Religious leaders are often among the most influential members of their communities. When they promote sound reproductive health practices and unite with health care providers, they can help make monumental strides toward ensuring reproductive health for all.

The U.S. must have maximum flexibility to spend limited resources in the areas of HIV prevention that are most relevant to country demands.

An estimated two million girls worldwide undergo the brutal procedure known as female genital mutilation (FGM) every year, leading to physiological, sexual and psychological effects including hemorrhage, shock, infection, sexual dysfunction and increased risk of contracting HIV. It's a tragic human rights violation, whose cultural and traditional roots run deep-making it difficult to combat. PAI has a long history of working towards the elimination of FGM-from generating awareness and action in the 80's to funding anti-FGM projects in Mali over the past five years-but more help is desperately needed. We urge governments and communities around the world to take steps to eradicate this harmful practice once and for all.

Women in Nicaragua suffered a terrible blow last Thursday when the Nicaraguan legislature voted in favor of a total ban on all abortions-even in cases of rape, incest or when the woman's life is in danger. This shocking move will surely result in higher rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. PAI condemns this misguided decision and urges the Nicaraguan government to rescind this dangerous law.

After years of inexcusable stalling on the part of the Bush administration, science trumped politics last month when the Food and Drug Administration approved emergency contraception (EC), allowing its sale over the counter to women eighteen and over. Now it's time for the U.S. to help women in the developing world gain access to the life saving benefits of emergency contraception. With risk of maternal death as high as 1 in 6 in countries such as Afghanistan, compared to 1 in 2,500 in the U.S., EC can save lives. PAI urges USAID to start purchasing and using the morning-after pill as part of their family planning arsenal.

At last week's XVI International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Toronto, participants emphasized more boldly than ever before evidence-based prevention and the need to empower women to protect themselves from this deadly disease. As a founding member of the Caucus for Evidence-Based Prevention, PAI urges the implementation of HIV prevention policies centered on sound, scientific evidence and to give all people-especially women-the tools and information they need to protect themselves.

Sunday night's opening plenary launched the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada, where thousands of people-including researchers, advocates, people living with AIDS, and policy makers-will spend the week discussing and debating HIV prevention, the treatment and care of those who have HIV/AIDS, and ways to eradicate this epidemic. Front and center is the Caucus for Evidence-Based Prevention, made up of over 50 influential non-government organizations, promoting HIV prevention efforts supported by scientific evidence, not ideology. As a founding member of the Caucus, along with amfAR and SIECUS, PAI calls for global support of evidence-based prevention as the best way to stem the growth of the HIV epidemic.

Ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information, services and supplies is essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a recent report released by the Millennium Project. The report makes five specific recommendations on integrating SRH into the MDGs, including funding for reproductive health supplies and the systems that ensure accurate and timely distribution. PAI strongly endorses these recommendations, specifically the need to improve access to contraceptives and condoms to meet the growing global demand. Without access to supplies, a sustainable reproductive health program is unattainable.

A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine substantiates the effectiveness of condoms both in the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI), including the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). The findings of the study Condom Use and the Risk of Genital Human Papillomavirus Infection in Young Women, support PAI's long held belief that condom use is critical not only for HIV prevention but for prevention of other STIs. Programs that promote condom use for the prevention of HIV must collaborate with family planning programs for the purpose of reducing STIs, including HPV.

In 2001, President Bush's spokesperson affirmed that the President "knows that one of the best ways to prevent abortion is by providing quality voluntary family planning services." Since then, however, Bush's press secretaries have refused to confirm the President's position on contraceptives, and new White House press secretary Tony Snow proved no different last week during Q & A with reporters. With the President remaining silent, PAI calls on Congress to demonstrate its support for reducing the high rate of unintended pregnancies in the developing world – which often lead to abortion – by supporting greater access to contraceptives and quality voluntary family planning programs.