#FPChat<\/a>.<\/p>\nWith just a few hours to go until the Global Family Planning Summit in London, there\u2019s a lot of buzz on twitter. Before I head to the exciting media out there, I\u2019d like to share some of our concerns:<\/p>\n
The Exclusion of Safe Abortions:<\/strong> The Gates foundation hopes that the increased access to contraceptives will reduce unsafe abortions by 70%. But legislating safe abortions and making it available to all women as a reproductive right is the best and the most effective way to prevent unsafe abortions.<\/p>\nIn this particular case, contraceptives are only about 90% effective, and their failure leads to unwanted pregnancies. This can be very stressful for the woman, and she has to be given access to safe abortion services. While, the Gates foundation has made it clear that safe abortions will not be in the agenda, one hopes that the participating countries will integrate these services into their health plans.<\/p>\n
The Exclusion of Men: <\/strong>In the developing world, women are not always in charge of making decisions about their bodies. In many families, social, religious and cultural factors give their husbands absolute rights to make decisions about sex, the size of their families, and the spacing of their pregnancies.<\/p>\nSo, it is very important to include men in all conversation on family planning, to dispel the myths they might believe in and to help them identify the flaws in old patriarchal systems.<\/p>\n
While it is important to empower women and educate them to make independent decisions about their futures, it is important to educate men on the need to support their wives and daughters.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a clip from a documentary called \u201cYes we can\u201d produced by the Center for Health and Social Justice. It shows the story of Dadaso Gurav, who learned about contraceptives, informed his wife and planned his family.<\/p>\n