Melinda Gates wants to give 96 million more women access to birth control
We’ve entered a new chapter for birth control — one where health insurance may no longer need to pay for contraceptives. Many women are concerned about affording BC in the United States. And many women in other countries have difficulty accessing birth control, too.
But Melinda Gates knows how important birth control access is.
And she’s doing something about it.
Melinda is one Bill Gates’ wife and one-half of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She recently wrote an op-ed for National Geographic. She urged people to help make contraceptives available to women worldwide.
As the co-chair of the 2012 global partnership Family Planning 2020, she wants to give 120 million women birth control by the year 2020.
The organization had only reached 24 million women at the halfway point in July 2016. However, Melinda is still dead set on getting birth control to an ambitious percentage of the female population.
“Unless we begin making up for lost time, we will miss this chance to make this a turning point for women around the world,” she writes.
Melinda shared that she used contraceptives to plan her own family. Now, she wants to offer the same opportunity to women across the globe.
“The decision about whether and when to get pregnant was a decision that Bill and I made based on what was right for me and what was right for our family — and that’s something I feel lucky about. There are still over 225 million women around the world who don’t have access to the modern contraceptives they need to make these decisions for themselves,” she writes.
Furthermore, Melinda also wrote about the stories she’s heard from other women.
“In the decade and a half since Bill and I started our foundation, I’ve heard from women all over the world about how important contraceptives are to their ability to take charge of their futures. When women are able to plan their pregnancies around their goals for themselves and their families, they are also better able to finish their education, earn an income, and fully participate in their communities.”
Family Planning 2020 still has 96 million women left to reach. But if anyone can do it, we think Melinda can. Here’s to birth control for all!
