As Zika spreads across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States, a growing number of advocacy organizations, policymakers, and other stakeholders are concerned that women and girls are being left out of the global Zika response. On Thursday, September 29 at 2:30 PM advocates and experts will gather to discuss existing Zika responses and how to prioritize women’s health and human rights in global efforts to address the Zika virus.
Equimundo, alongside the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), Anis – Instituto de Bioética, and International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR), in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden, will hold a panel discussion titled, “A Rights-Based Approach To Zika: Putting Women and Girls at the Center of the Global Response.” Ambassador Björn Lyrvall will speak about Sweden’s feminist foreign policy and the importance of advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.
Event co-sponsors will also call on governments, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and other donor entities to adopt measures so that women and girls affected by the Zika crisis can access and afford all necessary reproductive health services to avoid unwanted pregnancy, maintain or terminate pregnancies, and ensure safe childbirth.
WHAT:
A Rights-Based Approach to Zika: Putting Women and Girls at the Center of the Global Response
WHEN:
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Thursday, September 29, 2016
WHERE:
House of Sweden, 2900 K Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20007
WHO:
Oscar Cabrera, Executive Director, O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law
Magaly Marquez, Deputy Director of US Programs, Equimundo
Debora Diniz, Founder, Anis – Instituto de Bioética
Ambassador Björn Lyrvall, Ambassador of Sweden to the United States
Carla Saenz, PhD, Bioethics Regional Advisor, Pan American Health Organization
Serra Sippel, President, Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
Esther Vicente, Board Member of Profamilia Puerto Rico and President of International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPFF/WHR)
RSVP:
Tala Haikal at thaikal@genderhealth.org or 202.393.5930
#NoZika Twitter Chat:
In advance of the panel discussion, Equimundo is co-hosting a multilingual Twitter chat about Zika, in partnership with CHANGE and IPPF/WHR, on Thursday, September 29 at 10:30am EDT.
The 45-minute chat will work to raise awareness about why women and girls must be part of the global Zika response. The chat will be conducted in English, Spanish, and Portuguese with the hashtag #NoZika.
