June 8, 2009

This issue of E-NEWS from the Center features the Center's signature programs on reproductive rights and women and HIV/AIDS:

• Strategic Action Convening (SAC) on Reproductive Rights/Justice and Women and HIV/AIDS

During 2009, the Center is continuing its partnership with US women state legislators to create effective responses to the continuing threats to reproductive rights and justice which they face in their states. In June 2009, at our second national Strategic Action Convening (SAC) in Washington, DC, women legislators from eight key states will develop strategies to promote reproductive rights and justice and address the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on women and girls - particularly in the context of women's overlooked needs for appropriate reproductive health and other HIV/AIDS services. We are grateful to the Dickler Foundation, the Educational Foundation of America, the Libra Foundation, and the Ford Foundation for support of this program.Click here to learn more.

• Women Leaders in Global AIDS Policymaking: The South Asia Initiative

History: In June 2008, the Center launched a new and unique program with our sister organizations -- the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) and the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA). Together, we convened a delegation of women leaders from India, Kenya, and Mexico - women Members of Parliament (the Center), women journalists (IWMF), and women living with HIV/AIDS (CEDPA) in Washington, DC and New York. For the first time, women leaders cooperated across their three sectors to create new ways to work together to ensure that women's needs are front and center in their countries' response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The women brought their vision and expertise to the United Nations' High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in New York and to US policymakers in Washington. And they have inspired their three host organizations to continue our work together. Click here to read more about this groundbreaking program.

The South Asia Initiative:Building on the success of the 2008 program, in 2009, the Center, CEDPA and IWMF will convene a seminar for women leaders from three countries in South Asia as our first regional initiative for this groundbreaking work. Together, women members of Parliament, women journalists and women NGO leaders will develop new partnerships, new strategies, and new action plans for their continued work together - in their own countries and throughout the region - to educate their constituents through the media and create woman-centered policy initiatives through their Parliaments and Ministries.

Click here to share information, offer suggestions and provide comments on these and other Center programs. We look forward to your feedback.

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