Talk:Birth Contraceptives in Developing Countries

I really appreciate your efforts to create a clear, concise and descriptive Wikipedia page about the use of birth contraceptives in developing countries. I think it is great that you touch based on developing regions, as opposed to one region alone. I am glad you included statistics about the influx in use of contraceptives in various regions over a specific time period. There are a few additions I would've like to make towards your topic discussion. For example under your "History" heading where you talked about "various international organizations and governments" that gained an interest towards the health concerns related to unwanted pregnancies and population rates in developing countries, you could have included specific organizations that have made contributions to developing countries. For example the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's is a non-profit organization that has the goal to "to bring access to high-quality contraceptive information, services, and supplies to an additional 120 million women and girls in the poorest countries by 2020 without coercion or discrimination, with the longer-term goal of universal access to voluntary family planning." The organization has several areas of focus which include:

1. Accelerate Country Action: We work with countries that are committed to expanding access to high-quality, voluntary family planning to reduce maternal and newborn mortality. Our deepest engagements are in India and Nigeria. We also work with public and private partners and make selected investments in Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In francophone West Africa, we are core members of the Ouagadougou Partnership for Family Planning, and support Senegal and Niger to implement supply and demand approaches that can inform practice across countries in that region.
2. Strengthen Policy and Advocacy: We work to keep family planning on the global agenda and to hold donors and developing countries accountable for their commitments to support family planning. Our work in this area includes grantmaking, direct advocacy, communications counsel and support, and engagement with leaders.
3. Monitor Performance and Promote Accountability: To monitor changes in contraceptive use and help all FP2020 countries track annual progress toward their goals and improve program performance, we are investing in rapid surveys that will provide data on family planning use in 6- and 12-month intervals, supplementing country-wide health surveys that provide data only every 3 to 5 years.
4. Closing Knowledge Gaps: Better service delivery is critical to expanding access to and use of contraceptives, particularly in the poorest countries with the weakest health service infrastructure. We build evidence about what works to address supply and demand barriers on a large scale and in multiple countries, and promote collaboration between the public and private sectors on delivery solutions.
5. Invest in New Contraceptive Methods: Some women do not access or use contraceptives for a variety of reasons, even when they want to avoid pregnancy. They may have misconceptions about their risk of becoming pregnant, or be deterred by the cost, inconvenience, or concerns about side effects. In some cases, opposition from family members or a limited range of available methods can be a key factor in non use. Less than 20 percent of women in Sub-Saharan Africa and barely one-third of women in South Asia use modern contraceptives. Continued innovation in contraceptive technology is needed to address these barriers and meet the demands of women in different circumstances and at different stages of their lives.

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Family-Planning#AreasofFocus

Another organization you could mention is the World Health Organization (WHO) and their attempts at addressing this issue. In particular WHO is working to :promote family planning by producing evidence-based guidelines on safety and service delivery of contraceptive methods, developing quality standards and providing pre-qualification of contraceptive commodities, and helping countries introduce, adapt and implement these tools to meet their needs." In addition WHO is also developing new contraceptive methods, including male methods, to reduce the unmet need for contraception.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs351/en/

Another thing that you could have added to your page was some visual examples of contraceptive methods or educational tactics that some developing countries use to promote the use of modern-day contraceptives. I find as a reader sometimes it is really helpful to have a visual aid, either pictures, graphs or charts to guide the statistics presented. I added a picture of an advertisement in Botswana that aims to mitigate HIV/AIDs and promote safe sex methods.

This wiki page provides a lot of insightful information into birth contraceptives in developing countries and the lack of access to the various forms of contraception. The examples of contraception methods in African countries and their progression toward greater access to resources is great, as it allows the reader to gain a better perspective on this issue in terms of a real life example in a place that we may not hear a whole lot about on our local news outlets being in North America. To further strengthen this post, I think that the “limitations” section could be expanded upon to include sub-headings that could include: lack of knowledge, lack of fiscal resources, limited options and availability of contraceptives, as well as cultural and religious opposition regarding birth control. I think it is particularly important to add more information on the religious and cultural aspects that prevent society from making birth control accessible and dissuade individuals from seeking birth contraceptives, as well as the social stigma that surrounds birth control. Including examples of countries that face these issues would also be useful and could include Northern Ghana, as here, the notion of unfaithfulness arises when women use contraception, thus enhancing social stigma surrounding birth control and it becomes damaging to the individual’s reputation and self-esteem.