Mother's Day comes and goes each year, but in order for the world's mothers to truly lead healthy and productive lives, improving access to maternal and child health care – including access to modern contraceptives – must be on the forefront of governments' agendas year-round.

PAI Lauds Bipartisan Effort to Increase Access for Women Worldwide PAI strongly supports the "Ensuring Access to Contraceptives Act of 2006," recently-introduced legislation which transcends political differences by offering a sound approach to reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions among women in the developing world. Led by Representatives Rob Simmons (R-CT) and Dennis Moore (D-KS), members of Congress with vastly different beliefs about abortion have agreed on the goals of this unique bill (H.R. 4736). Co-sponsors include Mark Kirk (R-IL), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Jim Oberstar (D-MN), Vic Snyder (D-AR), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Michael Michaud (D-ME).

A Statement from Amy Coen, President/CEO of Population Action International (PAI), on the Fifth Anniversary of the Global Gag Rule: Our nation's ambivalence about abortion continues to threaten the health and well-being of women in developing nations. When President Bush re-introduced the Global Gag Rule five years ago, he implied that a goal was to decrease the number of abortions. No such effect has been reported. In fact, the gag rule has adversely affected the health of women and families in many countries. At one of the Family Guidance Association's regional health clinics in Ethiopia, plans to hire more medical staff and improve other health care were halted because they lost U.S. funding.

Just days before the world marked Human Rights Day 2005, a landmark treaty strengthening African women's reproductive rights was enacted. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) on the Rights of Women in Africa took effect on Nov. 25, 2005 – thirty days after Togo became the 15th African country to ratify the treaty, per the guidelines of the protocol. This groundbreaking document – which has 38 signatures and 15 ratifications from 53 member states – was originally adopted by the African Union in July 2003 to supplement the ACHPR. PAI commends Togo and the 14 other African countries for ratifying this important treaty, thereby elevating the status of African women.

For many people in the world's wealthy countries, the holiday season is often a time for overindulgence in food. But for the estimated 850 million people worldwide who suffer from hunger, this time of year only serves as a stark reminder of their often-constant struggle for adequate nourishment.

The largest generation of young people in history is entering its reproductive years. Yet rarely do these youth have access to the detailed and accurate information about sexuality and reproduction they need to make the informed decisions that affect their lives. On the occasion of this year's International Youth Day, the United Nations is calling on governments and civil society organizations to remain committed to the promises they have made to their youth – and PAI joins the UN in this call.

Even as President Bush reinstated the Mexico City Policy (also known as the Global Gag Rule) in January 2001, the White House asserted that the President supports U.S. family planning assistance efforts, stating that “he knows that one of the best ways to prevent abortion is by providing quality voluntary family planning services.” Four years later, the President's support for safe and voluntary contraception is no longer so clear or concise.

More than 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV or AIDS, and another 14,000 people are infected each day – mainly by sexual transmission. The Bush administration claims to have elevated this public health emergency to a top priority, in 2003 pledging to spend US$15 billion over five years to help eliminate the virus. But rather than ensuring the swift and direct disposal of those funds to proven efforts on the ground, the government is tying up its aid in ideological stipulations – and AIDS-affected countries are choosing to go without.

Population Action International (PAI) is calling on the Bush administration to reaffirm United States support of an international agreement on women's health and rights that is currently under review at the United Nations in New York.

Despite a widening debate in some industrialized countries over population aging and decline, new United Nations projections demonstrate that population continues to grow rapidly in much of the world and that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is far from cresting, Population Action International (PAI) noted on Thursday.