Advancing reproductive health through policy advocacy: Increasing access to Emergency Contraception in Latin America

Significance: Increasing access to emergency contraception (EC) through policy advocacy is fundamental to advancing reproductive health and family planning globally. Public policies that expand EC access promote sexual and reproductive health by increasing women's contraceptive choices and reducing rates of maternal mortality, unsafe abortion, and unwanted pregnancy.

Objective: International Health Programs (IHP) of the Public Health Institute (PHI) is implementing the Emergency Contraception Leadership Initiative (ECLI), an innovative program to build political support among policymakers to expand access to EC in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

Methods: Funded by the Compton and WestWind Foundations, ECLI has trained 48 leaders in Latin America to advocate for policies that increase availability of EC. Participants implement innovative country strategies to build political support among policymakers and increase public knowledge of EC among underserved groups, especially indigenous women, youth, and commercial sex workers.

Lessons Learned: Program results indicate that increased political support and policy advocacy are vital to mainstreaming EC and improving reproductive health outcomes globally. Evaluations demonstrate that participants are successfully increasing EC availability at national and local levels by building support for EC, family planning, and reproductive health among policymakers, the media, activists, and religious leaders.

Conclusions: ECLI is successfully advancing sexual and reproductive health by building political commitment of policymakers to ensure widespread access to EC in Latin America. This innovative program is promoting policy change throughout the region, resulting in broader support and increased access to EC.