Reaching beyond the Northwest
In 2014, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest (PPGNW) worked in partnership with nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations to support programs in developing countries that positively impacted the lives of vulnerable women and families.
Recognizing that family planning and other sexual and reproductive health services play a critical lifesaving role in global health, the PPGNW International Program focuses on three programmatic priorities that lie at the intersection of global health needs and our expertise:
Expanding global access to family planning
Preventing unsafe abortion and related health consequences
Empowering women and youth through sexual and reproductive health education
Expanding access
Globally, there are 222 million women who wish to limit family size or stop childbearing altogether who are not using effective contraceptive methods. If these women had access to family planning options, the number of unintended pregnancies could shrink by as much as two-thirds, which in turn would reduce the number of maternal and newborn deaths each year by hundreds of thousands. By increasing access to contraception options, we empowered individuals to prevent unintended pregnancies and reduced the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted infections.
Preventing unsafe abortion and related health consequences
Unsafe abortion can be avoided both by preventing unintended pregnancies (through increased access to family planning services), and by increasing access to safe abortion. In 2008, an estimated 21.6 million unsafe abortions were performed globally, many of them in countries where abortion is illegal altogether or strictly restricted. That same year, 47,000 women died due to complications from unsafe abortions; many more suffered long-term health consequences. Unsafe abortion and its consequences are preventable. PPGNW advocates for access to safe, legal abortion and also supports postabortion care services to ensure that women who have unsafe or incomplete abortions get the medical attention and emotional support they need to prevent long-term complications and, in some cases, save their lives.
Empowering women and youth
PPGNW was recognized for our outstanding educational programs working with teens and empowering youth. Our Teen Council peer education program is a proven method that can be adapted to the international context. Access to simple reproductive health information and services does not always translate to increased use of those services. Our education programs also addressed gender roles, socioeconomic, and cultural factors that impeded access to services. By contributing our expertise as part of broader development initiatives that focus on health and empowerment, we further strengthened the overall health of communities.