Women Deliver and Bayer Award Grants to 10 Emerging Young Leaders to Support Contraception Access Projects
12 August 2016, New York – Today, Women Deliver, a global advocacy organization, awarded
seed grants of US$5,000 each to 10 Young Leaders to support digital storytelling projects raising
awareness and supporting positive communications in communities about access to
contraception and young people’s sexual and reproductive health.
The World Contraception Day Ambassadors Project – a partnership between Women Deliver
and Bayer – equips young people with the skills they need to collect and share digital stories
about young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), with a particular focus
on access to contraception in their home countries.
"No one knows the needs of young people better than young people themselves,” says Katja
Iversen, President/CEO of Women Deliver. “The 10 new World Contraception Day
Ambassadors will use the power of technology, advocacy and youth engagement to transform the
landscape of contraception in their communities. They are strong change makers.”
The 2016 World Contraception Day Ambassadors focus on storytelling about contraception,
family planning, and reproductive health for young people and adolescents. For example, in
Latin America, Kizanne James is developing an app for phones that contains information about
different types of contraception, including where to find them, across Trinidad and Tobago.
Franklin Gnanamuthu of India is creating a documentary to capture the real life challenges faced
by both married and unmarried young boys, girls, and transgender youth in acquiring the correct
knowledge and accessing quality sexual and reproductive health services.
The 10 grants are part of the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program, which provides
opportunities for youth advocates to build and strengthen their capacity and skills and finds
platforms for them to share their voices and experiences.
“We are thrilled to continue this exciting partnership with Women Deliver to achieve our shared
mission of elevating youth voices,” said Klaus Brill, Vice President Global Healthcare Programs
of Bayer Pharma AG. “Bayer hopes to help young people live better and healthier lives for
themselves, their families, and their communities, and that starts with sharing their stories.”
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About Women Deliver: As a leading global advocate for girls’ and women’s health, rights and
wellbeing, Women Deliver brings together diverse voices and interests to drive progress,
particularly in maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights. It builds capacity, shares
solutions, and forges partnerships, together creating coalitions, communication, and actions that
spark political commitment and investment in girls and women. Women Deliver believes that
when the world invests in girls and women, everybody wins. Read more about the awardwinning
Women Deliver Young Leaders Program here.
About World Contraception Day: Taking place every year on September 26, World
Contraception Day is an annual worldwide campaign that centers on a vision where every
pregnancy is wanted. Launched in 2007, the campaign’s mission is to improve awareness of all
contraceptive methods available and to enable young people to make informed choices on their
sexual and reproductive health. World Contraception Day is supported by a coalition of 13
international NGOs, a governmental organization, and scientific and medical societies with an
interest in sexual and reproductive health. The WCD website, http://www.your-life.com,
contains accurate and unbiased information on contraception to help young people, in discussion
with their healthcare provider, choose which option is right for them.
