• Sign In
• Become a Friend

Michaela Maynard
University of Rhode Island

How do you personally hope to play a role in improving the rights and reproductive health of women worldwide?

It has been my aspiration to work in a health related field since the age of ten. In a fifth grade autobiography assignment I wrote that I wanted to become a pediatric oncologist. When I was old enough, I volunteered in a hospital and thrived on the opportunity to help patients. My interest in medicine, along with my advanced studies of the Spanish language, inspired me to volunteer in a medical clinic in Guaimaca, Honduras. The trip opened my eyes to a world of human suffering, poverty, and injustice. Yet, what struck me the most was that despite the hardships and the lack of basic medical necessities, the people of Guaimaca posses a spirit of courage, optimism, and determination, which has enabled them to develop and prosper. With limited resources, the people of Guaimaca strive to overcome barriers and improve their living conditions. Their progress, however, is always severely restricted largely by reasons beyond their control. My experience in Honduras deepened my belief that everyone deserves proper healthcare, but also made me aware of the economic, political, and cultural barriers that limit the ability to attain these rights.

My work in Guaimaca and the lessons that I have derived from that experience have inspired me to work in the most impoverished areas of the world. I am eager to experience other cultures and explore new medical issues. Traveling to Malawi will deepen my understanding of public health and help me to prepare for my future goals. I intend to gain degrees in both Global Public Health and Medicine. My education and my experiences will allow me to play a vital role in improving global healthcare. I aspire to be a leader in the fight to support women’s rights and reproductive health.

Discuss the significance of the U.S. Government’s de-funding of UNFPA and why U.S. funding should be restored.

Complications related to poor reproductive healthcare are some of the leading causes of death among women worldwide. Women are suffering and dying from illnesses that are preventable and treatable. Despite this knowledge the Bush Administration cut funding for the UNFPA in 2002. This decision has cost UNFPA $34 million each year. The lack of funding results in a shortage of programs that help women with family planning, safer pregnancy and childbirth, protection against sexually transmitted infections, and the prevention of violence against women. The United States is the only nation that does not support UNFPA for non-budgetary reasons. Funding for UNFPA needs to be restored in order to change the life course of mothers and children throughout the world. This money will save lives and prevent unnecessary suffering both in the present and future.

In Honduras, I witnessed first hand the effects of poor reproductive health. Each day the town clinic fills with women and their children. Usually they are dressed in rags, some barefoot, and they have spent many long hours walking to the clinic. On one particular day, I met a fifteen-year-old girl who had traveled to the clinic alone, complaining of stomach and back aches. She was convinced that she wasn’t pregnant and each time I asked her she would deny the possibility. Later she admitted that she was having sexual relations with her boyfriend and that she had been taking the pill irregularly. It had been several months since her last menstruation but due to lack of proper education she assumed that simply taking her pills protected her from pregnancy. Her symptoms and her history led the nurses and I to believe that her aches and pains were probably due to pregnancy. As one of the main Spanish translators on the trip, I had to inform this young patient that she was probably pregnant. As she left the clinic I felt a lump in my throat knowing that she would probably never receive any further help, and that she was in grave danger of hurting herself and her unborn baby.

On another day, the nurses and I treated a young mother and her newborn child. Neither the mother nor the baby had received any prior treatment. The mother had given birth to the baby in her home several months earlier and the child was significantly underweight and showed signs of a possible birth defect. I learned that it is common practice for women to give birth in the home, and babies are usually delivered in poor conditions and often materials such as fishing wire are used to cut the umbilical cord. I was shocked and outraged by the lack of prenatal and maternity care for women. Both the young teenager and the mother and her child are examples of how the U.S. Government’s de-funding of UNFPA has affected the health of women and children worldwide. These stories are enough to prove that the funding should be restored immediately.