"Family planning saves lives" is a simple health prescription that resonates globally. A critical challenge is to ensure that policies and programs embrace the well-established benefits of enabling women to choose whether and when to become pregnant—actions and values that are integral to human rights. Policymakers should be asking, "What do human rights mean in relation to family planning, how do we incorporate them into our country family planning and development plans, and why is that important?"

This assessment guide was developed in response to the USG's establishment of institutional mandates and policies that emphasize the importance of promoting gender equality to achieve desired development outcomes. The objective of this guide is to enable USG and USAID partners to design, collect, use, and manage information on the linkages between gender inequality and health. (June 2013)

This brief focuses on the motivations and mechanisms behind the increase of prenatal sex selection; outlines regions and countries that have skewed sex ratios at birth; and explores the negative social, economic, and development effects on individuals, communities, societies, and countries. While prenatal sex selection was once thought to be unique to India and China, it actually threatens all regions where these three phenomena are converging.

This PRB policy brief explores trends in child marriage and the benefits of delaying marriage. It examines promising approaches in developing countries to end child marriage and provides recommendations to advance policy and advocacy efforts.

This brief examines why health services should address gender-based violence and highlights examples of health programs that have incorporated effective responses to violence into their work.

This two-page brief succinctly answers the question “Why IS GBV Relevant to Reproductive Health?” Produced for the IGWG by Population Reference Bureau and funded by USAID, the brief outlines the sheer magnitude of GBV and its impacts on many reproductive health outcomes, including unintended pregnancy, maternal and child impacts, and STIs/HIV. It is a valuable resource in making the case quickly for policymakers everywhere.