All of us at the Population Council are outraged and saddened by the recent incidents of racial violence, police violence, and racism toward Black Americans. As a research organization committed to generating and using evidence to improve the lives of the most marginalized populations around the world, we condemn racism and oppression in all of its forms. We commit to being an active agent of positive change – to understand and challenge the injustices faced by oppressed communities in the United States and around the world, and to generating critical evidence to expose the social and economic inequalities of marginalized communities.   

In a newly published commentary in Global Public Health titled “Men and COVID-19: Adding a gender lens”, Council researchers Julie Pulerwitz and Ann Gottert, along with colleagues from Jhpiego, the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University Medical Center and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, highlight the unique challenges of the pandemic on men and the potential of strategies in engaging them to address COVID-19-related threats to women’s health and wellbeing.

At the Population Council, we believe that well-designed research is the foundation to solving health and development challenges.  We are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by taking the tools and strategies we have used to address other global health areas and are rapidly deploying them to address this crisis.

As the number of positive COVID-19 cases and deaths climb in Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin—a researcher and demographer known for her work on child marriage—shared her perspective in a commentary published in Netra News on the disproportionate burden of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on Bangladeshi women and girls. In the piece, she calls on the world to recognize that women and girls are especially vulnerable to this pandemic and the conditions of these unprecedented times, but also have the potential to help support effective response strategies.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshape our lives and health systems, Council Program Director Thoai Ngo and President of Ibis Reproductive Health Kelly Blanchard share their views on abortion care during these unprecedented times in an opinion piece for Thomson Reuters Foundation News. Citing two new evidence reviews on women’s ability to manage abortions with safe and effective medicines during early pregnancy, the authors support self-managed abortion during – and after – this pandemic as a method that puts less strain on health systems and allows women access who might be hampered by isolation and distancing mandated in response to COVID-19.

The Population Council has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic over the last couple of weeks with action to ensure that our staff and in turn their families, and the communities where we work, stay safe and well. 

The Population Council is pleased to announce the addition of three new members to the Board of Trustees. Drawing on backgrounds in finance, organizational excellence and health systems strengthening, together these newest members bring decades of global health finance and innovation experience.

The Population Council’s Girl Innovation Research and Learning Center (GIRL Center) published two new studies on global girls’ education, which challenge the long-held assumption that simply enrolling girls in school is sufficient to improve their health and wellbeing over the course of their lives.

The Population Council received a significant gift this year in honor of Dr Elizabeth “Betty” Price, a passionate advocate for social and environmental justice, women’s reproductive rights, and equal opportunities for all to reach their potential.