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Traveling and working across the Middle East and North Africa has taught me that the most important health conversations are rarely the easiest ones.<\/p>\n
They are shaped not only by medical evidence, but also by family, faith, culture and the expectations we carry from one generation to the next. Family planning is one of those conversations.<\/p>\n
It is deeply personal. Yet its consequences extend far beyond the individual.<\/p>\n
A woman\u2019s ability to make informed decisions about her health can influence when she starts a family, whether she continues her education, how she participates in the economy and the opportunities available to the next generation.<\/p>\n
And still, for too many women, the decision is shaped not by knowledge, but by silence.<\/p>\n
Across Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030 has placed human potential at the heart of national progress. The Kingdom\u2019s continued investment in people, talent and family well-being is creating an environment where Saudi women are contributing with growing visibility across laboratories, hospitals, universities, boardrooms, public institutions and entrepreneurial ventures.<\/p>\n
Within this momentum, informed personal health decisions made with qualified medical guidance are an important part of enabling women to plan their futures with confidence, dignity and trust.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia has already established a strong foundation. The Kingdom\u2019s Family Planning National Guidelines recognize family planning as a basic right for individuals, families and communities, and as a contributor to social and economic development. They emphasize high-quality services, effective counselling and informed decision-making, particularly through primary healthcare.<\/p>\n
That matters because informed choice is not simply about making contraception available. It is about whether a woman can ask a question without hesitation. Whether she can distinguish reliable medical information from a misconception shared online or within her community. Whether she can discuss her needs with a qualified healthcare professional and receive guidance that respects her health, circumstances and values.<\/p>\n
There is no single answer because every woman\u2019s health, circumstances and aspirations are different. The purpose of informed reproductive health support should never be to prescribe one path, but to ensure that people have the knowledge and professional guidance to choose their path with confidence.<\/p>\n
The WHO estimates that 164 million women of reproductive age globally have an unmet need for contraception. But \u201cunmet need\u201d is not only a statistic. It may represent a woman who cannot access a healthcare professional, someone who is worried about side effects but has no trusted person to consult, or a couple whose decision is being shaped by misinformation.<\/p>\n
In each case, the absence of reliable information can become a decision in itself.<\/p>\n
Silence is never neutral. When trusted information is missing, uncertainty makes the decision for us. When a woman is informed and supported, she can make that decision for herself, and its impact can be felt for generations.<\/p>\n
This, to me, is where our conversation must change.<\/p>\n
Too often, awareness campaigns speak at people. Real progress begins when we speak with them. It requires language that is factual without being cold, culturally sensitive without avoiding the subject, and respectful without allowing misconceptions to go unchallenged.<\/p>\n
It also requires us to recognize that trust cannot be built by one organization acting alone.<\/p>\n
Governments provide leadership and establish standards. Healthcare professionals turn scientific evidence into individual guidance. Families create the space for honest conversations. International and civil-society organizations extend support into communities. For the private sector, the responsibility is to contribute as a trusted partner: listening first, aligning with national priorities and bringing expertise forward in ways that strengthen, rather than substitute, locally led public-health efforts.<\/p>\n
At Bayer, we have learned that our most meaningful contribution begins with partnership, not promotion. Across the Middle East, our work in women\u2019s health is guided by close alignment with national health priorities and by collaboration with healthcare professionals who understand the needs of the women and families they serve. In Saudi Arabia, this means supporting the Kingdom\u2019s health transformation journey by working alongside healthcare stakeholders to strengthen informed dialogue, contribute scientific expertise and enable trusted conversations between women and qualified medical professionals.<\/p>\n
That is how large ambitions become human outcomes.<\/p>\n
The UNFPA reported that the contraceptives it supplied in 2024 helped prevent an estimated 18 million unintended pregnancies and averted 39,000 maternal deaths, globally. These figures demonstrate what access can achieve, but the real measure of progress is more personal.<\/p>\n
It is the woman who feels heard during a medical consultation. The couple who is able to plan their family in a way that protects health and well-being. The mother who can pursue her aspirations while creating the future she wants for her children.<\/p>\n
On World Contraception Day, we should not settle for more awareness alone. We should aim for something deeper: greater understanding, stronger trust and a society in which seeking qualified guidance about reproductive health and family well-being is regarded as a responsible act of health and future planning.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia\u2019s transformation is ultimately a story about unlocking human potential. Supporting women to make informed health choices belongs within that story.<\/p>\n
Because when a woman can shape her health, she can better shape her future. And when women shape their futures, they help shape the future of a nation.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The writer, Uwe Dalichow, is head of Eurasia, Middle East and Africa and country division head, pharmaceuticals, Middle East and North Africa, Bayer.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n