EngenderHealth Newsletter | February 2026: Progress That Protects Care

What Progress Looked Like in FY25

In a year shaped by global disruption, the results of our July 2024–June 2025 program year demonstrate what sustained commitment makes possible.  

Across Africa and Asia, EngenderHealth works to expand access to contraception, support comprehensive abortion care, improve maternal and newborn health services, and prevent and respond to gender-based violence. 

In fiscal year 2025, that work translated into measurable impact: 

• 1.65 million unintended pregnancies prevented 
• 430,400 unsafe abortions averted 
• 29,800 child deaths prevented 
• 1,600 maternal lives saved 
• $127 million in healthcare costs saved for families and health systems 

These results represent more than statistics. They reflect expanded choice, the ability to make decisions, build families, and live with safety and dignity. 

In this month’s newsletter, we share stories and updates that reflect the work behind these results and the communities driving progress forward. 

Turning Precision into Protection for Mothers 

At Asebot Primary Hospital in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region, postpartum hemorrhage—one of the leading causes of maternal death—once brought moments of fear and uncertainty in the hours after childbirth. With hands-on training and technical support from EngenderHealth, including the introduction of calibrated postpartum drapes and the E-MOTIVE bundle, providers now measure blood loss accurately, intervene without delay, and protect mothers’ lives when every minute matters. Learn more…

Challenging Menstrual Stigma in India 

In rural Bihar, India, menstruation has long been surrounded by stigma, misinformation, and silence. Through EngenderHealth’s menstrual health initiative, Rani, an Accredited Social Health Activist, and her daughter Pallavi embraced menstrual cups as a safer, reusable option and are now helping other women and girls in their community talk openly, challenge taboos, and choose healthier solutions. Meet Rani and Pallavi… 

Where Health Education Meets Climate-Smart Action 

At Usunga Primary School in Tanzania’s Tabora Region, students are combining sexual and reproductive health education with nutrition, life skills, and a rapidly expanding school garden that supports both learning and local food security. With training and technical support from EngenderHealth, youth leaders are strengthening their health knowledge, growing nutritious crops for the school lunch program, generating income from surplus harvests, and building a sustainable model of community-led resilience. Explore the story…  

From strengthening maternity care to challenging stigma and building youth leadership, progress is happening every day. Explore more stories of change on our website. 

Nigeria Boosts Family Planning Budgets and Provider Capacity  

Nigeria’s push to expand access to hormonal IUD services gained momentum as Kogi and Ebonyi states significantly increased their family planning allocations and strengthened provider capacity. With technical support from EngenderHealth, 300 healthcare providers across 50 facilities were trained and mentored, while Kogi more than doubled its family planning budget and Ebonyi quadrupled its allocation, signaling growing state-level ownership and long-term sustainability. Read the full article…

Youth Leading Change in SRHR 

Meaningful youth participation strengthens sexual and reproductive health programs and policies. Youth at the Helm: Voices, Vision, and Action highlights the Youth Advisory Council in Ethiopia as a model for co-creation, safeguarding, and shared decision-making, demonstrating how young people are shaping the systems that affect their lives. View publication… 

Improving Caesarean Safety Through Human-Centered Design 

What happens when caesarean care is designed with the people who deliver and experience it? A new early-stage innovation report published in BMJ Innovation examines how a human-centered design process in India helped identify safety and quality gaps in caesarean care. By centering healthcare workers and patients, EngenderHealth helped develop a Caesarean Safety Checklist that aligns with WHO safety standards and respectful maternal and newborn care. Access the article… 

Lead the Call for Rights and Justice 

On March 8, International Women’s Day calls on all of us to advance Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL women and girls. 

At EngenderHealth, those principles take shape in clinics, counseling conversations, and national health budgets. When women and girls can decide if and when to become pregnant, health risks decline, and opportunities expand. 

Creating a fundraiser in honor of International Women’s Day is a powerful way to amplify your impact. When you share why women’s health and equality matter to you, others respond. 

Here are a few resources shaping conversations in global health and rights: 

• Rethinking global fertility narratives: A Population Reference Bureau analysis looks beyond headlines to examine the economic, gender, and policy forces shaping fertility trends worldwide. 
• Moving beyond crisis management in global health: A Global Policy Journal commentary calls for structural reform, domestic financing, and accountability to advance the health of women, children, and adolescents. 
• How anti-rights movements are investing in youth leadership: Ipas examines how structured training and sustained investment are strengthening organized opposition to reproductive rights.

By donating to EngenderHealth, you help us drive impactful, gender-equitable programs that promote health, equality, and rights. Your support enables us to protect sexual and reproductive rights as fundamental human rights, ensuring that everyone has access to the care they deserve. 

Other ways to support EngenderHealth: 

• Explore and share our FY25 Impact Report: See what progress looked like during our July 2024–June 2025 program year. Read the full report or download the summary, and share the results with colleagues and partners committed to advancing reproductive health and rights. 
• Amplify the conversation: Follow @EngenderHealth on social media and help elevate stories, analysis, and actions that expand reproductive choice and strengthen health systems. 
• Invite others in: Forward this newsletter to a colleague or invite them to subscribe and join a growing community committed to advancing health and rights.

Thank you for being part of this community. Together, we’re proving that care, courage, and collective action can create lasting change.

We’d love to hear from you about what you want to see in future newsletters. Contact us at social@engenderhealth.org. 

This email was originally shared over email on February 26, 2026.

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