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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 22, 2008
Contact: Lori Adelman, ladelman@iwhc.org, 212-979-8500 or 212-801-1277
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S HEALTH
COALITION RELEASES
TOP TEN WINS FOR WOMEN IN 2008
Key Global Developments Offer
Breakthroughs in Women's Health and Rights
New
York, NY: Women's health was a priority concern in 2008, as donors,
policymakers, and voters worldwide recognized that achieving global peace or
security requires securing every woman's right to a just and healthy life.
Topping the list is the election of Barack Obama as the 44th
President of the United States, which provides a tremendous opportunity to
regain U.S. leadership on health and human rights globally. Other winning
developments:
- Health and education ministers unanimously endorsed the
"Mexico City Declaration on Sex Education in Latin American and the Caribbean"
to strengthen the region's approach to fighting
HIV/AIDS by investing in comprehensive sexuality education and access to health
services.
- In the
United States, voters overwhelmingly rejected attempts to restrict abortion
access by defeating ballot initiatives in South Dakota, Colorado, and California.
- This year, India's National AIDS Control
Organization will provide commercial sex workers in four states with about 1.5
million female condoms, the only women-initiated HIV prevention technology
currently available.
- September's Clinton
Global Initiative annual meeting featured a call from longtime IWHC partner,
Bene Madunagu of the Girl's Power
Initiative, for increased commitment from major policymakers and
funders to the provision of comprehensive sexuality education programs for
youth worldwide.
- After a
year of negotiations, Ecuador's Constitution now says that young people must
receive sexuality education and that the State has an obligation to provide
sexual and reproductive health services to its citizens.
- In
June, Colombia's high court ruled on the side of science-and women's
rights-when the country's highest administrative court ruled that the sexual
and reproductive health service provider Profamilia
can continue to import and distribute emergency contraception.
- This
year, Connecticut joined Massachusetts in legally recognizing same-sex
marriages. Internationally, a Colombian court extended pension benefits
to same-sex partners.
- In
2008, the number of U.S. states that refused federal funding for
abstinence-only-until-marriage education reached 25, despite strained state
budgets.
- After
four years of negotiations, Muslim leaders in the United Kingdom succeeded in
creating a new marriage contract under Sharia'h law that gives husbands and
wives equal rights.
This list was compiled by the International
Women's Health Coalition (IWHC). IWHC leads global and local actions
to secure every woman's right to a just and healthy life. We are creating
a world where women are free from discrimination, sexual coercion, and
violence, and have access to health services and information. For the
complete Top Ten list and more information about how IWHC and its partners
worldwide are working to achieve even greater progress in 2009, please visit:
http://www.iwhc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3512&Itemid=655.
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