Family planning seems to be on everyone’s minds these days. How can we keep the momentum going?

Aïssatou Dia Fall has become a star in Yeumbeul, Senegal.

I consider myself a strong advocate for the wide availability of family planning methods, and of women being able to decide if and when they want to become pregnant.

Women’s reproductive health rights are a heated topic in the United States (US) this election year. I had the opportunity to attend an advocacy event focused on reproductive rights and access at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last week.

This weekend I returned from a long period of travel, having visited programs in eight countries in six weeks—some where I have lived, others where IntraHealth has had a significant commitment in partnership with the local government and communities, and still more where I feel I have spent so much time visiting over the past 25 years that I have come to feel at home.

We need to invest more, globally, to ensure that health workers are there to expand access and offer services.

Charles Krauthammer questioned the classification of contraception as preventive medicine, stating that “categorizing pregnancy as a disease equivalent is a value decision disguised as science.”

Earlier this month, during the Dakar International Family Planning Conference, the President of Senegal, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade, took a bold and unprecedented stance in his address in the opening ceremony of the conference saying, “Senegalese families should limit the number of children to better battle poverty.”

Changing opinions and behaviors around family planning in Senegal may happen slowly.

Wrapping up earlier this month, the International Conference on Family Planning brought together more than 2,000 participants for three days of science and advocacy on family planning.