World Contraception Day is set to take place, as it does every year, this Friday on 26th September. As avid readers of the DSW blog will know, we are a strong supporter of World Contraception Day. As usual we will be celebrating the central vision of World Contraception Day – a world where every pregnancy is wanted. As our week of activities gets going, we wanted to give you a sneak peek of what we and our partners will be getting up to.
What is World Contraception Day?
World Contraception Day is a worldwide campaign that centres on the vision of a world where every pregnancy is wanted. Launched in 2007, WCD’s mission is to improve awareness of all contraceptive methods to enable young people to make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health. WCD is supported by a coalition of 11 international NGOs and GOs as well as scientific and medical societies with an interest in sexual and reproductive health. It is sponsored by Bayer HealthCare (more details below). Activism, engagement and education remain vitally important, despite major progress around the world on sexual and reproductive health. Right now, worldwide, more than 41% of the 208 million pregnancies that occur each year are unplanned and, of those, nearly half end in abortion. The partners of World Contraception Day work together throughout the year and on World Contraception Day itself to empower young people to take control of their lives and family planning decisions.
World Contraception Day this year: what to expect?
This year, DSW is involved in a range of activities this year to mark World Contraception Day on Friday. We are particularly proud this year to profile a project we have been working hard on in the last 12 months. The GeNext Uganda “My Life, My Future!” was launched in September 2013 in partnership with Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. Active in the Wakiso and Busia districts in Uganda, the project has at its core the aim to empower young people to make informed choices about family planning and their sexual and reproductive health (SRHR). For World Contraception Day this year, we will be profiling some of the champions on our blog, starting today with Juliana. Check back in each day to see how the project is transforming people’s lives.
World Contraception Day at the European Parliament
To mark the return to work of the European Parliament, the European Parliament’s Working Group on SRHR is hosting an event on Thursday 25th September. The event will address the core issues of World Contraception Day, as well as welcoming the newest members of the EPWG for the first time. Sustaining broad support in the new Parliament will require collective efforts by sensitising, informing, and discussing our key issues and place them high on the agenda. Speakers at the event include MEPs Sophie in ‘t Veld and Heidi Hautala, and the Chair of UK APPG and President of European Parliamentary Forum, Baroness Jenny Tonge. Moer information is available here, and DSW will livetweet the event direct from Brussels under the hashtag #wcd2014EP.
World Contraception Day Tweetchat
On the big day itself, DSW along with a host of other World Contraception Day partners will take part in a tweetchat on Friday 26th. The tweetchat, which you can follow on twitter through the hashtag #WCDchat, will address issues such as advocacy goals, the latest innovations and technologies for contraception, access to contraception and family planning. We will have a post-chat review on our blog next week so be sure to check back in then!
There are a couple of secret and surprise new activities that we will be taking part in for World Contraception Day this year – about which our lips must remained sealed for now – so do check back in regularly on our blog, follow updates throughout the week on Twitter and Facebook, and make sure you follow #wcd2014 for all the latest news from the World Contraception Day partners.
And remember, Know Your Options, Know Your Future!
