FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2007

FOR INFORMATION AND INTERVIEWS, CONTACT: Beth Fredrick, 212-979-8500 or bfredrick@iwhc.org or Whitney Welshimer, 212-979-8500 or wwelshimer@iwhc.org

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S HEALTH COALITION ANNOUNCES TOP TEN WINS FOR WOMEN IN 2007

Key Developments Offer Breakthroughs in Women's Health and Rights:
Major Opportunities Ahead in 2008

New York, NY: Women's health was a priority concern in 2007, as global donors, international agencies, and influential private foundations realized that investing in women's health is investing in the world.

New gender policies set by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and UNAIDS top the list. These policies encourage direct investment in programs and policies to help girls and women prevent the spread of HIV. This year, Mexico City became the largest city in Latin American to legalize abortion, offering 1,500 safe abortions within the first 100 days of the new law's passage. In many communities, women leaders-many supported by the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC)-came together to speak in unison against the most damaging forms of violence and injustice. Other winning developments:

• Global Donors pledged new funds to prevent maternal deaths, including $1 billion over ten years from Norway, $175 million over three years from the Netherlands, and $200 million over five years from the United Kingdom.
• Two new reviews of "abstinence-only" sex education by Mathematica Policy Research and the U.S. Institute of Medicine found no evidence of the effectiveness of this approach in preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.
• The Nigerian Parliament rejected an anti-gay bill, citing concerns over possible human rights violations and recognizing its encouragement of far-reaching discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.  
• Several states, including Connecticut, Oregon, and Colorado mandated hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to inform sexual assault survivors about emergency contraception (EC) and make it available upon request.
• New Hampshire became the first U.S. state to repeal a parental notification law for abortion; Alaska followed suit finding a similar law unconstitutional.
• Faced with an estimated 2.5 million HIV cases, India's national government launched twice weekly sex education classes for students ages 14 to 18; a win even at the federal level although some states are resisting the curriculum's implementation.  
• Oregon will join 26 other states in requiring that health insurance plans include contraceptives in prescription drug coverage as of Jan. 1, 2008.
• Women-initiated HIV-prevention advanced with the development of a new female condom and more funding going toward microbicides research.

The top ten list was compiled by the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) policy and program experts who work in Africa, Asia and Latin America and monitor emerging developments in sexual and reproductive health and rights. For the complete list and more information about how IWHC and its partners worldwide are working to achieve even greater progress in 2008, please visit www.iwhc.org/resources/toptenindex2007.cfm.