Giving Compass' Take:

• Providing contraception access is one of the simplest ways to reduce poverty, as Global Citizen writes. The organization Family Planning 2020 is determined to give another 120 million women and girls access to contraceptives over the next two years. 

• How can the international aid sector incorporate more family planning initiatives into anti-poverty strategies around the world? Which programs show the most promising evidence?

• Here's why some countries in Africa must tackle the birth control taboo.

Nearly 46 million women in the world’s 69 lowest-income countries gained access contraception in the past six years alone, Al Jazeera reports.

The increase is bound to empower women — and the societies in which they live — by ensuring more young girls stay in school and reducing poverty as a result, according to a new report titled “Progress Report 2018,” published by the global organization Family Planning 2020’s (FP2020). Women who have the option to delay pregnancy are more likely to enter the global labor force, start businesses, and invest in their communities.

“The number of children in a family has a lot of impact on other goals — not only for the family but a country as a whole,” Beth Schlachter, FP2020's executive director, told Al Jazeera in an interview.

When people have access to contraception the possibilities are endless. It can be the difference between life and death for many women.

Read the full article about the power of contraception by Leah Rodriguez at Global Citizen.