PAI's First Study Tour to Mexico City is a Success

PAI’s Study Tour to Mexico proved to be an amazing opportunity for exploring how PAI’s policy and advocacy work and research affects the lives of women who lack access to the reproductive health care they need. The goal of the Study Tour was to provide participants with a “behind the scenes” look at the reproductive health and family planning services available to women in Mexico. We also explored the social and political barriers that exist in accessing these services, and the policy and advocacy work being done by PAI and our partners in Mexico to overcome these barriers. Since Mexico was “graduated” by USAID almost 10 years ago (meaning the country no longer receives USAID funding), this trip focused primarily on the family planning successes that had been achieved during the time span of USAID population and family planning assistance, along with areas where progress and consequently funding is still needed (for example, unmet need for family planning among adolescents has been steadily rising in the last decade.) We also examined how sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) policy and advocacy work in Mexico is carried out in the context of a conservative political climate at the federal level and in the face of strong influence from the Catholic Church. Above all, we looked for local level success stories that expressed the reproductive health needs of Mexican youth, women and their families.

Equidad de Género, PAI’s partner organization and subgrantee, connected us with an impressive cadre of SRHR organizations in Mexico. The Alliance, a group comprised of 5 SRHR organizations, told us the story of how they successfully worked in concert with each other, the media, the Catholic Church, and policymakers to bring about the decriminalization of abortion up to 12 weeks in Mexico City – an unprecedented reform in Latin America. Also included on the tour was a visit to Comprehensive Health for Women (SIPAM), another PAI subgrantee, whose work with women living with or affected by HIV has improved many women’s lives. One woman told us that she wasn’t aware of her HIV status until her husband died and she learned that she needed to be tested; after she received a HIV positive diagnosis she lived in fear of transmitting the virus to her grandchildren by touching them. It wasn’t until she found SIPAM where she received education that dispelled myths about the virus that she was able to reclaim her life; she now speaks to other women living with HIV. We also visited the Mexican Foundation for Family planning (Mexfam) where our group had the opportunity to see a Mexfam health promoter in action, teaching a sex education class to a group of attentive high school students.

One participant said that the trip “amplified her vision of reproductive health.” Another participant said that the trip made him think deeper about women's issues and that while he “had always been sympathetic towards women’s issues….when one actually experiences the hardships and other difficulties faced by women, as relayed by the ‘actors’ themselves, it really does provide one with a much better feel for the overall challenges of women. This Mexican trip did that for me.”

PAI has two study tours planned for 2009. To reserve your spot, or to find out more information, please contact Christine Bixiones, cbixiones@popact.org.