"All you have to do is walk into a family planning clinic in Bangladesh or rural Mexico or Kenya," says Terrence W. Jezowski, AVSC's newly appointed chief operating officer. "You see crowds of desperate people who clearly want reproductive health services. You see what extraordinary things health professionals can accomplish in extremely impoverished circumstances."

"It keeps me going; every day the work of AVSC helps make life better for thousands of people."

Over 20 Years of Service

Jezowski joined AVSC in 1974, shortly after completing his master's degree in public health at the University of Pittsburgh. His mentor had been Dr. John C. Cutler, head of the university's population studies program and then-president of AVSC.

When Jezowski started, AVSC's international program was only a few months old. Hired as a research specialist, he went on to lead the agency's international division during the 1980s, and most recently served as vice president for planning. Jezowski has now worked in over 40 countries around the world.

Jezowski first became interested in working in the developing world through his college studies in anthropology and demography. As an undergraduate at the University of Michigan in the 1960s, he was active in the abortion rights movement.

"I knew many friends and individuals who were confronted with terrible decisions about unwanted pregnancies. I knew women who had to go to back-alley abortionists. It was appalling. You still see it around the world today."

He became convinced that every individual has the right to make his or her own personal reproductive choices, and that family planning services were an essential part of health care.

A Broadening Focus

Today AVSC, like many others, has come to realize that reproductive health care is also an important part of family planning, a change illustrated by AVSC's work in Bangladesh over the years.

Jezowski is especially proud of AVSC's work in Bangladesh. As the country rebuilt itself after its war of liberation, Jezowski participated in the beginning of the new nation's family planning program. In 1979, he moved to Dhaka and opened AVSC's first field office.

"In those early years, there was so little hope," he remembers. But AVSC helped Bangladesh establish training programs, medical standards, and supervisory systems - efforts that are the cornerstone of the organization's work today.

Much of what was done in Bangladesh was ground-breaking in the field of family planning. Continuing in this tradition, AVSC has currently embarked on a seven-year quality improvement program in Bangladesh.

The Future of AVSC

Jezowski sees several opportunities and challenges in the years ahead.

"We need the continued support of the U.S. and the international community, and we need to help our constituencies understand that an expanded focus on reproductive health is more important than a narrow focus on family planning or on a single method, such as sterilization."

Jezowski points out that AVSC's international work is now in its third decade. "Our partners in the developing world have themselves become experts. We have much to learn from them, and they have much to teach each other. AVSC must become the bridge to help bring about that exchange across countries."

Thinking back over more than 20 years of work at AVSC, Jezowski reflects, "I am very proud to have been part of the evolution of AVSC - from a small, U.S.-focused organization to a truly international organization that is recognized as an innovative, hands-on authority in the field of reproductive health. I am truly honored to work for a first-class organization that every day helps to make a real difference in the lives of women and men throughout the world."

Pamela Beyer Harper is director of Communications for AVSC International.