Botswana stands out for its rapidly falling fertility rate; a complex set of factors, including increased access to comprehensive education and contraception, is driving the falling rate. The country's family planning programs are far-reaching, providing services in even rural areas of Botswana, and giving women more control of their reproductive health and choices.

In the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica, a non-profit is donating IUDs to women, acknowledging that the lack of access to contraception and family planning services is part of a cycle of poverty for many women and families. So far, paired with education about the process and based off of similar programs in the U.S. and other countries, organizations have helped 60 women receive IUDs.

Providing access to family planning and health services in addition to contraception leads to a reduction in unplanned and teen pregnancies. Colorado’s Family Planning Initiative has contributed to the state’s steep drop in unintended pregnancies and abortions during the past decade. The initiative trains healthcare workers, enrolls community partners, and uses outreach to normalize conversations about family planning.

The Myanmar-based organization, Strong Flowers, is providing men and women with sex and gender education. Teaching such classes in a notoriously conservative culture can be challenging, but founder Dr. Thet Su Htwe and her curriculum on gender roles, menstruation, gender-based violence, and reproduction have been welcomed.

Doctors have created a pressure garment that prevents women from dying from obstetric hemorrhage during childbirth. Modeled after the NASA spacesuit, the product was far from ideal when first envisioned in 1969 and went through several iterations over many years. Now, the garment has been successfully tested with a 50 percent reduction in mortality rate and is used around the world.