An unprecedented number of young people are entering their reproductive years, most of whom live in the developing world. U.S. policymakers should assist in effort to ensure that youth worldwide are able to make informed decisions about their sexuality and receive the family planning and reproductive health care that they require. The U.S. should support these efforts by providing adequate funding for international family planning and reproductive health programs.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. It has been historically driven by an atmospheric build-up of greenhouse gases (GHGs) generated mostly by the industrialized world. The consequences of climate change-more intense hurricanes and typhoons, rising sea levels, drought, heat waves, major disruptions to agriculture-will be felt by communities around the world.

Women now account for half of the 33 million people living with HIV around the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, home to two-thirds of the world's people living with HIV, women are even harder hit, making up 60 percent of those infected. Not only are women biologically more susceptible than men to HIV, many behavioral and social factors play into women's vulnerability.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provides international leadership on population issues and is a key source of financial assistance for family planning and reproductive health programs in poor countries. Restoring U.S. funding for UNFPA programs is crucial to improving the health and lives of women and their families and to addressing demographic trends and promoting sustainable development.

Pregnancy and childbirth are deadly to more than half a million women worldwide every year  a fact that is unacceptable, but not unavoidable. Despite twenty years of campaigning to improve their sexual and reproductive health, the risk of dying in pregnancy or childbirth continues to show the largest gap between the rich and poor of all development statistics. That so little progress has been made in helping the world's poorest women survive pregnancy and childbirth should serve as a wake-up call to all of us.

Each year, over 600,000 children around the world are infected with HIV through mother-to-child-transmission, totaling 2.3 million children living with HIV or AIDS today. The majority of these infections is occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and are acquired from mothers during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding. While programs to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother-to-child (PMTCT) are invaluable, they currently are reaching only an estimated five percent of the HIV-positive population.

Population Action International (PAI) is an independent policy advocacy group working to strengthen political and financial support worldwide for population programs grounded in individual rights. Founded in 1965, PAI is a private, non-profit group and accepts no government funds.

The phrase population crisis once roused fears of uncontrollable growth in human numbers. However, now that many societies have improved women's status and increased access to family planning, some analysts argue that if there is a population crisis it is because women are having too few children-a so-called birth dearth. A quick look at the demographic reality shows that the era of population growth is far from over-and high fertility rates are still prevalent in many developing countries.

Population age structure-the comparative size of specific age groups relative to the population as a whole-can help illustrate where countries' risks and opportunities lie in relation to critical issues such as democracy, development and security. In fact, the influence of age structure on a state's governance, risk of an outbreak of civil conflict, and economic development is both significant and quantifiable. Given these linkages, investments in family planning, infant and maternal health, education and economic opportunities for girls, women and young people can vastly affect the shape of things to come.

Filmed in Kenya and Uganda, this 9-minute documentary provides a snapshot of the Bush administrationís abstinence-only approach to HIV prevention as part of its global HIV/AIDS assistance. Abstaining from Reality examines how these ideologically-driven programs are actually endangering the lives of the people theyíre supposed to be protecting. This policy is disconnected from the reality of the lives of women and young people, who are disproportionately affected by the epidemic. The film urges a balanced, comprehensive approach to preventing HIV infections by providing full and accurate information and a range of services that empower individuals to make informed decisions.