World Contraception Day 2008

World Contraception Day is a worldwide multinational initiative that was first held on September 26 in 2007.

September 26, 2008:

The motto in 2008: Your life, your body, your choice

World Contraception Day aims to call attention to the high numbers of unintended pregnancies and to increase the awareness of contraception.

The motto of the World Contraception Day 2008 was “Your life, your body, your choice”. In 2008 the initiative concentrated on the education of young couples. Both men and women should have the essential access to awareness and sexual education to be encouraged to make a conscious decision for a responsible contraception or parenthood.

Worldwide activities

Some 70 countries participated in World Contraception Day 2008. Among them are now also African countries, for example Morocco, Kenia, South Africa, Mozambique and Mauritius. On this day, there were radio shows, participatory activities and informative events taking place all over the world, all related to the topic of contraception.

Politics were also involved in the initiative. For example, the German Foundation for Population Development held a Parliamentary Evening in Berlin to discuss the issue of teenage pregnancies.

Partners

World Contraception Day is an international initiative of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and is supported by Bayer Schering Pharma. Apart from the international NGOs

Marie Stopes International (MSI),
European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health (ESC),
International Federation of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (FIGJI),
Population Council,
Asian Pacific Council on Contraception (APCOC),
Centro Latinoamericano Salud y Mujer (CELSAM),

the global ambassador of World Contraception Day 2008 was British pop singer Kelly Osborne.

On www.your-life.com you will find more information on the campaign.

Global Press Conference

Presentation of speakers	PDF for Download
Dana Hovig, Chief Executive, Marie Stopes International
Phil Smits, MD, Head of Worldwide Women’s Healthcare, Bayer Schering Pharma AG
Regine Sitruk-Ware, Executive Director R&D, Populations Council and Adjunct Professor, Rockerfeller University
Sharon Camp, President and CEO, Guttmacher Institute