Women Deliver, a global advocacy organization, awarded seed grants of US$5,000 each to 10 Young Leaders to support digital storytelling projects raising awareness and supporting positive communications in communities about access to contraception and young people’s sexual and reproductive health.
The World Contraception Day Ambassadors Project – a partnership between Women Deliver and Bayer – equips young people with the skills they need to collect and share digital stories about young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), with a particular focus on access to contraception in their home countries.
“No one knows the needs of young people better than young people themselves,” says Katja Iversen, President/CEO of Women Deliver. “The 10 new World Contraception Day Ambassadors will use the power of technology, advocacy, and youth engagement to transform the landscape of contraception in their communities. They are strong change makers.”
The 2016 World Contraception Day Ambassadors focus on storytelling about contraception, family planning, and reproductive health for young people and adolescents. For example, in Latin America, Kizanne James is developing an app for phones that contains information about different types of contraception, including where to find them, across Trinidad and Tobago. Franklin Gnanamuthu of India is creating a documentary to capture the real life challenges faced by both married and unmarried young boys, girls, and transgender youth in acquiring the correct knowledge and accessing quality sexual and reproductive health services.
The 10 grants are part of the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program, which provides opportunities for youth advocates to build and strengthen their capacity and skills and finds platforms for them to share their voices and experiences. As a leading global advocate for girls’ and women’s health, rights and wellbeing, Women Deliver brings together diverse voices and interests to drive progress, particularly in maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights. It builds capacity, shares solutions, and forges partnerships, together creating coalitions, communication, and actions that spark political commitment and investment in girls and women. Women Deliver believes that when the world invests in girls and women, everybody wins. Read more about the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program here.
“We are thrilled to continue this exciting partnership with Women Deliver to achieve our shared mission of elevating youth voices,” said Klaus Brill, Vice President Global Healthcare Programs of Bayer Pharma AG. “Bayer hopes to help young people live better and healthier lives for themselves, their families, and their communities, and that starts with sharing their stories.”
Taking place every year on September 26, World Contraception Day is an annual worldwide campaign that centers on a vision where every pregnancy is wanted. Launched in 2007, the campaign’s mission is to improve awareness of all contraceptive methods available and to enable young people to make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health. World Contraception Day is supported by a coalition of 13 international NGOs, a governmental organization, and scientific and medical societies with an interest in sexual and reproductive health. The WCD website, http://www.your-life.com, contains accurate and unbiased information on contraception to help young people, in discussion with their healthcare provider, choose which option is right for them.
