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HOME / Tell Facebook: Don’t Silence Pathfinder & Women’s Health Advocates

Tell Facebook: Don’t Silence Pathfinder & Women’s Health Advocates

On Nov. 4, Facebook banned all advertisements about “social issues, elections or politics” indefinitely. This may be a well-intentioned action to combat disinformation during a contentious U.S. election, but Facebook has gone too far – unrightfully labeling our content as “political.”

That means—in the middle of a global pandemic—we can’t effectively share important updates on Pathfinder programs that you support, or raise funds to ensure our lifesaving work continues.

Make no mistake: Women’s health is not a political issue.

We are calling on Facebook’s leadership to stop silencing Pathfinder and women’s health advocates worldwide.

Mr. Zuckerberg and the Facebook Oversight Board,

For every month of COVID-19 lockdown, another 5 million women and girls will suffer from gender-based violence. That’s just one of the many facts that Pathfinder can’t share with supporters and donors due to your “political” ad ban.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has restricted Pathfinder’s content. Facebook’s social issue categorization has long impacted our ability to reach supporters with important news and opportunities to support women’s global health.

Women’s health and safety isn’t politics. If the Oversight Board is to truly push Facebook towards “a clearer basis for its decisions in human rights norms,” we implore you to show the world that women’s health is a human rights priority – not a political one.

I join Pathfinder International’s call for Facebook to prioritize women’s health worldwide and urge Facebook to exempt nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations like Pathfinder from the social issue disclaimer requirement.

Facebook has the opportunity to demonstrate global leadership on this issue. Help us build a healthier and more equitable world, together.






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    Take More Action

    Thank you for standing up for women and for nonpartisan, global health nonprofits everywhere. But to truly make our voices heard, we must raise a groundswell of support to ensure Facebook prioritizes women’s health worldwide and exempts organization like Pathfinder from its social issue disclaimer requirement. That means we need your help to spread the word.

    Tell your family and friends why you’re signing this letter — and invite them to join you >>

    Thank you for taking action. Ready for the next step?

    Last year, Pathfinder raised thousands of dollars in Facebook advertising to support our work around the globe. But Facebook’s recent political ad ban threatens the work we do for women and families, preventing us from raising mission-critical funds for global health.

    Make a gift to ensure our work to build a healthier, more equitable world for women and girls continues, no matter what.

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    About Us

    Pathfinder has worked to improve health systems by advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for 63 years. Our staff are part of the communities where they work and invested in making things better. They know what works and what doesn’t.

    From global networks to national influencers to local community-based organizations, women, youth, and adolescents—we work strategically and diligently to bring about policy changes that support access and funding for SRHR. Especially now, during this global crisis, when women and girls need these services more than ever. Through our local partners in Nigeria, we quickly learned that cases of gender-based violence were skyrocketing during COVID-19 lockdowns. We worked with those partners to reopen health centers and gender-based violence support centers, despite the lockdowns.

    With your partnership, we’ll keep pushing for women and girls to have the services they need despite every barrier they have before them—even a global pandemic.

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