Carrie Epps is PAI's Fall 2008 Communications Intern.

In addition to Tod's post from last month, it's not only world leaders, governmental officials, scientists, and scholars that are talking about population.  This Pearls Before Swine comic, printed in more than 400 newspapers worldwide and readily available on the internet, shows a definite mainstreaming of issues related to population.  That this comic has appeared during worldwide economic and ecologic uncertainty should be of no surprise. Having "pointed out the obvious," our elected officials need to be addressing these issues in a more proactive fashion.  And they've got a lot of explaining to do.

The United States government in particular should explain why it contributes the least to population assistance when it holds a vast majority of the world's wealth.  Also, when women have the right and access to reproductive health services in the United States, why does the government consistently undermine those services for women in the developing world?  Because when people start pointing out the obvious, it becomes increasingly obvious that the world can't wait.

As we near the end of a long presidential race in the United States, there are still many policy issues to discuss.   Those working on the many aspects of sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are following the campaign carefully and discussing positions passionately.

This post is not about who to vote for in the presidential race or to weigh in on candidates' policy positions related to SRHR - it is to comment on an aspect of the race that is central to our work that I think has been lost in the dialogue.  I am commenting on this based on more than 20 years working on and writing about gender issues related to SRHR.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most insidious outcomes of gender inequity and while men and boys can be subject to GBV, by and large it is perpetuated on women and girls.  The roots of gender-based violence include gender norms that can result in women being valued less in society than men and turn them into  sexual objects to be controlled by men.  When we think of GBV, physical violence first comes to mind, particularly violence inflicted by intimate partners. A multi-country study by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that about one in three women experience some form of violence in their lifetime.

Thailand has a rich and colorful history, but perhaps its most interesting success is its effective response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the past 20 years. Thailand effectively mobilized an appropriate response to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic of the early 1990's, with significant political support and financial backing committed by the government. Advocates launched a successful public awareness and behavior change campaign to inform and enhance public knowledge about the spread of the HIV virus and how to protect themselves.

Spearheaded by one of the most famous AIDS activists in the world and a national hero in Thailand, Mechai Viravaidya (also known as "the Condom King"), thorough his organization the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) initiated a nationwide community-driven response, involving government officials and health ministers, schoolteachers, street vendors, religious leaders and taxi drivers to promote condoms as a lifesaving vehicle to prevent the spread of HIV infections in Thailand. A series of radio and television ads about using condoms aired every hour and comprehensive sexual education about HIV/AIDS was launched in schools to help spread the message.

One of the unique features of the Asia Pacific Alliance (APA) is that it brings together reproductive health (RH), family planning (FP), development and environment nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). We in the movement know that all of our activities are linked and mutually reinforcing, but a platform such as APA holds our feet to the fire in terms of active and meaningful collaboration.

Another aspect of APA is that official development assistance (ODA) agencies and other donors, such as private foundations, are invited to the table as members. APA aims to provide an environment for donors whereby they can learn from one another both best practices and lessons learned -- from the Australian Government's overseas aid program (AusAID), to Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency (TICA), Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), New Zealand's International Aid & Development Agency (NZAID), the newly merged Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), along with U.S. foundations such as The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, APA hopes to provide a forum for NGOs and civil society to engage with the ODAs/donors investing in their region, to improve communication and understanding of the important role played by the other.

The Asia Pacific Alliance (APA) is hosting its annual meeting in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. An appropriate location, given the theme of this year's meeting, Refugees and Migrants and their access to Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Conference attendees heard first from fellow APA members, Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand (PPAT) and Population and Community Development Association (PDA), who introduced the migrant and refugee situation through their experiences.

Next, advocates from the Mobile Obstetric Maternal Health Workers (MOM) Project, which delivers maternal health services among internally displaced populations in Eastern Burma; Friends International, which works with street children; the Adolescent Reproductive Health Network on the Thai/Myanmar border; and China Youth Network/Youth Coalition each shared their organization's work with migrant and refugee populations.

Suzanne Ehlers is Vice President for International Advocacy at PAI.

Thailand has been in the international news this last week, as protests against the current Prime Minister's administration broke out in the streets of Bangkok. Here in the north, in the city of Chiang Mai, the annual meetings of the Asia Pacific Alliance (APA) have proceeded without disruption, although the many global examples of political uncertainty and instability, as well as financial collapse and fragility, are heavy on the minds of advocates gathered here.

It is a challenging time to be advocating for increased resources to foreign assistance budgets, much less reproductive health and family planning programs. But that is what APA was created to do: bring together population, reproductive health, development and environment nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from six member countries -- Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Thailand, Australia, and Canada -- and promote and support collaborative advocacy to advance the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)'s Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Official Development Assistance (ODA) agencies in each of these donor countries are also encouraged to be a part of APA's membership, and organizations like PAI are fortunate to be invited to the table as partners.

By Emily Barcklow, Projects Coordinator, and María Eugenia Romero, Executive Director, at Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia.

A little over a month ago, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled in favor of the constitutionality of the abortion law reform approved by the Mexico City Legislative Assembly on April 24, 2007.

This ruling not only ensures the continuation of safe and legal abortion care up to 12 weeks of gestation for residents of Mexico's capital city, but it also sets the groundwork for replicating this landmark reform in other states.

The law that was passed last year in Mexico City decriminalized abortion up to 12 weeks of gestation and obligated the Mexico City government to implement comprehensive policies and actions that promote sexual and reproductive health and rights. Prior to this reform, abortion was only permitted in case of rape, congenital malformations, non-consensual artificial insemination and in case of risk to the women's health. In addition, women were not penalized for accidental pregnancy loss.   

"Aid effectiveness" is the buzz word of the moment in development.  But are civil society organizations (CSO) paying any attention?  The overwhelming CSO turn-out at the preparatory meetings for the third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra (HLF3) last month says a resounding, "Yes."  Civil society groups, including a few like PAI working to promote family planning and reproductive health, are mobilizing around the aid effectiveness agenda, trying to preserve the positive elements of aid effectiveness while addressing and moving beyond the challenges.  

I attended the recent Accra International Women's Forum on aid effectiveness, along with 200 women and men from around the world.  The main message from the Forum is that women, who, as a group, are often overlooked, are integral to development.  There is no aid effectiveness without development effectiveness, and gender equality, human rights and environmental concerns must be recognized as crucial to this goal.  The Women's Forum statement also echoed many of the broader CSO concerns regarding the need for greater democratic ownership of development, and stronger accountability.

Over the last week, the American people and financial markets around the world watched as Congress debated an eye-popping $700 billion dollar economic rescue for the American economy.  Lost amidst the media's coverage of the rescue plan was another Congressional decision -- to punt to the next President and new Congress tough decisions on funding for most FY 2009 government programs, including foreign assistance. 

As World Watch Institute's latest magazine issue "Population Forum" illustrates, concerted foreign assistance that emphasizes international family planning programs is going to be required to address the nexus of population issues that have emerged -- environmental degradation, climate change, as well as poverty, security and the health of women and children.  However, having worked in Togo, West Africa, an area of the world where hundreds of thousands of women already fail to have their family planning needs met, I'm left to wonder: if the next Administration turns away from our obligations overseas, will foreign assistance and developing world women be the first casualties of the economic downturn?