Salud Sexual y Justicia Reproductiva en Latinoamérica y el Caribe

LAC Speaks: Sexual Health and Reproductive Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Laura Ramos Tomás is a Spanish-Brazilian sexuality education facilitator, MSc Public Health candidate at LSHTM, and founder of TabuTabu, an organization that co-creates pleasure-based sexual health initiatives with youth and women in Brazil and Honduras. Laura was a Youth Trailblazer at the ICFP 2022, and has been a Community Reporter for FPNN since 2024.

GREETINGS FROM YOUR HOST

When the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) announced in early 2024 that its next edition would take place in Bogotá in November 2025, I was thrilled. Having first joined the ICFP community at the 2022 conference in Thailand, I knew what a powerful platform it provides and how meaningful it would be to bring that momentum to Latin America.

I have had the privilege of working with communities and sexual health advocates across Latin America, and have seen their resourcefulness and creativity in the face of social and systemic adversity. After eight years of working at the intersection of social inequality, gender-based violence, and the lack of access to education, I remain humbled by the region’s richness, activism and innovation, particularly in terms of community-based care. I was eager to continue learning and to help showcase the leadership, lessons, and deep expertise in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) that Latin America and the Caribbean have to offer ahead of the conference.

That’s why I joined forces with FPNN to produce Habla LAC: a series that amplifies the voices of activists, professionals, and organizations working to advance SRHR in Latin America and the Caribbean.

  • Since we began planning, the global SRHR and family planning community has had to navigate severe cuts to public health budgets and foreign aid alongside rising geopolitical instability and violence in many parts of the world. These shifts have raised new challenges, underscoring the importance of listening to those on the front lines.

    This is what Habla LAC seeks to do. I invite you to join this journey through Latin America and the Caribbean, where we hear directly from those driving progress in ten of the region’s 33 countries. While we curated a diverse group of contributors, this series only begins to reflect the region’s vast ecosystem of knowledge and resistance. We hope ICFP 2025 in Bogotá will be a moment to deepen this exchange through listening, learning, and connecting across borders with even more of the region’s brilliant advocates.

EXPLORE THE SERIES: COUNTRY SPOTLIGHTS

BONUS CONTENT

REFLECTIONS FROM THE HOST

Laura shares what she learned and what inspired her during the development of Habla LAC.

Read Laura's Reflections
Read Laura's Reflections

BEYOND HABLA LAC

Habla LAC was inspired by the announcement that the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) will be hosted in Latin America and the Caribbean for the first time in November 2025.

While this series highlights powerful insights and experiences from ten of the region’s 33 countries, it only scratches the surface of the diversity, resourcefulness and resilience of the actors protecting and advancing SRHR and family planning across LAC.

Join us at ICFP 2025 in Bogotá to connect with more voices from the region and to be part of shaping the future of family planning, together.