Dr Simon Peter Kayondo is an obstetrician-gynaecologist and Project Coordinator at the Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Uganda (AOGU). Within AOGU, he works on FIGO’s Advocating for Safe Abortion Project, and he is also a member of the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ECSACOG) – FIGO Community of Practice. 

Cynthia Kpalete is a doctor in her final year of training and a sexual and reproductive health rights activist. She is pro-choice, passionate about youth organisations and a committed safe abortion advocate. She is a member of the network of young health professionals for safe abortion and the community of practice of the African Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (SAGO). 

The increased vulnerability of women and girls in humanitarian crises  

In crisis settings, women and girls face significant hardships when trying to access sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Chronic fragility and displacement among women and girls puts them at high risk of unwanted pregnancy by increasing their risks of sexual violence, transactional and coercive sex, human trafficking, and other forms of sexual exploitation and violence.  

About FP2030 

FP2030 is the only global partnership centred solely on family planning. FP2030 brings together the widest possible range of partners across disciplines and sectors, while situating family planning at the crossroads of the global health, development and gender equality agendas.  

We are pleased to announce the launch of FIGO’s first podcast series, which aims to disseminate clinical recommendations to obstetricians and gynaecologists to improve women and girls’ health outcomes around the globe.

Dr Grace Newman from Ghana has been selected by FIGO and the World Association of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynecology (WATOG) as the winner of our essay competition on “Innovations in Contraception for Global Reproductive Health”.

Grace Newman is Senior Resident in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra, and is a member of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. She developed her interest in maternal health while she performed obstetric and gynaecologic surgeries in the busy OBGYN Unit of the Battor Catholic Hospital.

Tsholofelo Kgoloko from South Africa has been selected by FIGO and the World Association of Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynecology (WATOG) as the runner-up of our essay competition on “Innovations in Contraception for Global Reproductive Health”. 

On this World Contraception Day 2022, Professor Nichole Tyson and Assistant Professor Andrea Henkel from the Stanford University School of Medicine highlight the role played by contraception in improving health and economic outcomes for people of reproductive age worldwide. They also stress the need for family planning policies that put individual choice and empowerment at the centre and the need for innovation to meet global contraceptive needs. 

On this World Contraception Day 2022, Nichole Tyson, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Stanford University School of Medicine and specalist in paediatric and adolescent gynaecology, shares with FIGO the importance of focusing on the adolescent population when discussing global contraceptive needs. 

Adolescents often face a range of barriers when accessing abortion services and contraceptives. These barriers prevent them from making decisions about their reproductive lives and fulfilling their human right to bodily autonomy and access to health care.