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Friend, Today, we’re celebrating women on the frontlines of the battle to defend reproductive rights around the world. The ability to decide whether and when to become pregnant is fundamental to improving people’s lives and protecting our planet. When we expand access to reproductive health care and family planning options, myriad benefits ensue … for individuals, their communities, and our world at large. Your support will boost our collaborations with foreign health organizations in the developing world. Today, we honor one inspiring woman who leads Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka. Dr. Gladys and CTPH keep Uganda’s endangered mountain gorillas healthy and safe in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park by addressing the public health needs of the human communities surrounding the park. This includes improving infectious disease control, community hygiene practices, and education about and access to modern family planning. Rapid human population growth at the edges of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was threatening the health and homes of the mountain gorillas that live in the park. Gorilla habitats were being destroyed by too many people drawing on the forest’s resources for their survival. People’s encroachment into the park exposed gorillas to human illnesses and diseases. Dr. Gladys, a wildlife veterinarian, saw a solution: CTPH initiated voluntary family planning programs, in addition to other public health initiatives, which have reduced the Bwindi region fertility rate, helping local people and gorillas to live more harmoniously. Thanks to support from members like you, we’ve been able to collaborate with CTPH since 2015. Human population growth remains one of the most staggering challenges facing our planet today. But, thanks to you, and with the work of visionary women like Dr. Gladys, we can make progress! Thank you for all that you do,
Shauna Scherer |
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