PRB Discuss Online: "Ensuring a Wide Range of Family Planning Choices"
Worldwide, more than 60 percent of women of childbearing age use some method of family planning, but the percentages range from less than 10 percent in some of the least developed countries, to more than 70 percent in other countries. Cultural, social, political, and historical factors may drive women to rely on one or two specific contraceptive methods, but research has underscored the importance of having a range of choices. In this PRB Discuss Online, Lori Ashford, program director for policy communications at PRB, answered participants' questions on this topic. Read a transcript of the questions and answers. (June 2008)

Family Planning Challenges and Decentralization of Health Services in Latin America
In recent decades, several countries throughout Latin America have undergone health sector reform in efforts to improve the quality of care and the level of coverage. Among the most common of these reforms is the decentralization of health services. To ensure that individuals have the ability to choose, obtain and use quality contraceptives whenever they need them—a goal referred to as "contraceptive security"—requires that policymakers, program managers, and advocates address a number of factors.  (June 2008)

Sexual & Reproductive Health in the Middle East and North Africa: A Guide for Reporters

Cultural sensitivities and taboos surrounding sexuality are particularly pronounced in the Middle East and North Africa, and make the role of the media vital in providing objective information about sexual and reproductive health matters. This guide for reporters aims to bring together the latest available data on sexual and reproductive health for countries in the MENA region, to help journalists educate the public and make the case for policymakers that poor sexual and reproductive health contributes to social inequalities and hinders social and economic development. (May 2008)

Upcoming PRB Discuss Online, June 5, 2008: Ensuring a Wide Range of Family Planning Choices
PRB Discuss Online on June 5, 2008: Worldwide, more than 60 percent of women of childbearing age use some method of family planning, but the percentages range from less than 10 percent in some of the least developed countries, to more than 70 percent in other countries. Cultural, social, political, and historical factors may drive women to rely on one or two specific contraceptive methods, but research has underscored the importance of having a range of choices. Join PRB's Lori Ashford as she answers your questions about family planning worldwide: trends in use, preferences for specific methods, and obstacles women face in gaining access to the most appropriate method for them. Lori Ashford is program director for policy communications at PRB, and the author of many reports and articles on family planning, population policy, and reproductive health. (May 2008)

Updating Reproductive Health Legislation in West Africa
For more than a decade, Francophone countries in West Africa have been working to update their reproductive health laws. The French anti-contraceptive law, enacted in 1920 and still in effect after the independence of France's former colonies in Africa, banned advocacy for, knowledge of, or use of family planning methods. But given the health and economic benefits of family planning, a network of parliamentarians in West Africa began in the 1990s to develop a model law suitable for adaptation and adoption in the region. One of the most recent legal reforms has been in Togo, which approved a new reproductive health law in 2006. (April 2008)

Ensuring a Wide Range of Family Planning Choices
The use of contraception varies widely around the world, both in terms of total use and the types of methods used. In many countries, women and couples rely largely on one or two contraceptive methods, because of government policies, the way that national family planning programs have evolved, and cultural or social preferences. Understanding why people prefer some contraceptive methods over others can be useful for strengthening family planning programs. (April 2008)

Family Planning in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Mali
In West Africa, approximately 13 percent of married women use some form of family planning. Hormonal contraceptives, including the pill and injections, are the most commonly used methods. Traditional family planning methods, including periodic abstinence and withdrawal, are in second place.  (April 2008)

Family Planning Worldwide 2008 Data Sheet
The Population Reference Bureau's Family Planning Worldwide 2008 Data Sheet contains the latest estimates of lifetime births per woman and other key family planning indicators for more than 100 countries, including percent of women using both traditional and modern family planning, unmet need, and use of modern contraception by wealth group. Accompanying graphs illustrate trends in contraceptive use, projected increases in contraceptive needs, and the gap between desired vs. actual number of children, and the reasons women stop using the pill within one year of trying it. (March 2008)

Family Planning in West Africa
For many years, donors and governments focused attention on family planning in West Africa to both improve maternal and child health and enhance economic development. However, as fighting HIV/AIDS became a priority in the region, family planning received much less attention. (March 2008)

Family Planning Policies and the Poor in Peru
Over the past two decades, the government of Peru has instituted a series of laws and policies designed to expand access to family planning services. A recent article in International Family Planning Perspectives notes that in practice, these policies have not always achieved their desired effect. (March 2008)