Sara Srygley
Research Analyst II
Informing a Smarter World / Shaping Change for Good
Navigating through Fiscal Year 2022 was an experience in responding to and shaping change: We successfully completed several long-time projects at Population Reference Bureau (PRB), expanded our operations in West Africa, broadened our areas of focus to include self-care and climate adaptation, and began developing a new strategic plan to guide us through the coming years.
Yet for all the change, some things remained constant: Every day, in every PRB office around the world—in Kenya, Senegal, and the United States—our staff continued to work intentionally to bolster people’s and organizations’ capacity to use population data in ways that will advance critical issues like equality, equity, and reproductive health.
For nearly 100 years, PRB has analyzed data, translated research, and shared information widely so it reaches audiences ranging from government officials to researchers, media, advocates, and the public. This work has made a difference in 2022: We developed a new definition of respectful care in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health. U.S. policymakers are relying on our report about preserving and enhancing the American Community Survey. And our ongoing support to local partners’ research and communication priorities has led to our policy communication training program being embedded in the curricula of five research institutions and universities based in East and West Africa.
This FY22 annual report shares snapshots of some of our activities over the past year, who we worked with, and how our combined efforts came together to make a difference in people’s lives. The voices in this report show that, through all the changes we experience, it’s the relationships we build along the way that allow us to move forward, confident that our actions help ensure good data lead to good decisions that improve lives around the world.
Jeff Jordan, CEO and President
PRB analyzes population data and ensures the research and its applications are understood and used widely by decisionmakers, advocates, and media. Our ability to both assess and easily communicate critical issues about topics like aging, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights makes us a valued partner and resource for those working at all levels and in all areas of the world, from the United States to Malawi to Bangladesh.
In 2022, we worked with new and long-time partners like the Appalachian Regional Commission, l’Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme des Métiers de l’Internet et de la Communication, Green Girls Platform, the MacArthur Foundation, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Youth Alliance for Reproductive Health to communicate, convene, and share skills that get evidence-based information into the hands of decisionmakers in government, the private sector, and civil society who can put it to use creating positive change.
For decades, PRB has worked collaboratively with local organizations and partners so community members lead, set priorities, and identify solutions that are grounded in local realities. The work we do is often out of the spotlight.
The technical assistance and communications support we provide to data users, journalists, policymakers, youth advocates, and others in places like Appalachia, California, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Uganda doesn’t make us the center of attention—and that’s how we want it. As our Africa Director, Aïssata Fall, said about our work on the SAFE ENGAGE project, “We [try] to break the mold. It’s not about us having the funding, it’s about the principle and the commitment to partnership.”
From 2017 to 2022, the EEDA project partnered with youth and civil society leaders working on family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Africa and Asia. Together with these partners, EEDA developed tailored, data-driven advocacy strategies and communications materials to increase policy knowledge, strengthen commitment to implementation, increase funding for existing policies, and reinforce systems for promoting accountability. EEDA’s partners continue to make change happen in their communities.
For seven years, the PACE project worked together with local partners to build champions, bridge sectors, and distill evidence to ensure that family planning, reproductive health, and population issues are recognized as key to sustainable and equitable economic growth and development across Africa and Asia. The project ended in 2022, but its focus on connecting with local institutions and intentional shifting of program leadership to local partners ensures its aims and work continue.
For five years, the SAFE ENGAGE project created spaces for dialogue and collaboration among different stakeholders as they worked together to develop strategic messages aimed at improving access to safe abortion, strengthen the capacity of advocates to achieve policy goals, and work with journalists to improve evidence-based reporting. The project’s approach brought together partners from Anglophone and Francophone countries, creating connections that will endure long after the project’s end in FY22.
In the United States, much of the policymaking around population health resides with states and localities. The decentralized nature of decision-making means that, to be effective, research and policy must focus on the communities they serve. PRB’s U.S. Programs staff provide trainings and resources to local leaders around the country to help them find the data they need on population, housing, and health trends so they can understand and respond to their communities’ needs.
In California, we are a force behind the scenes, working as an intermediary between data producers like the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education. We do the heavy lifting to make data and trends accessible across more than 1,000 indicators so that county program staff, journalists, advocates, and policymakers can spend their limited time and resources focusing on policy and program change instead of looking for the right data.
The KidsData program promotes the health and well-being of children in California by providing an easy-to-use resource that offers high-quality, wide-ranging, local data to those who work on behalf of children in a way that is accessible to policymakers, service providers, grant seekers, media, parents, and others who influence children’s lives.
PRB information products in 2022 included blogs, briefs, fact sheets, reports, videos, and websites on topics like children’s well-being, family planning and reproductive health, equity, and the challenge of misinformation in today’s world. We’ve curated a sampling for you to explore.
Family Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Black Women Over Three Times More Likely to Die in Pregnancy, Postpartum Than White Women
Building Up Communities by Breaking Down Data
Dying Young in the United States
Rising Obesity in an Aging America: Policy and Program Implications
The Democratic Republic of the Congo Leads the Way on Abortion Access
The Future of Family Planning in Africa
Resilient Future: Climate Financing Strategies for Family Planning Programs
Youth Family Planning Policy Scorecard
2022 World Population Data Sheet
Data and Demagoguery: Human Rights and Development in the Disinformation Age
We appreciate the organizations and individuals whose generous support makes our work possible. Thank you.
PRB worked together with 48 organizations in 2022.
Through their generous contributions, the individuals listed here allowed PRB to fund essential program expansion and organizational innovations during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2022.