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Good reproductive health policy starts with credible research

 

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Guttmacher Institute

Good reproductive health policy starts with credible research

 

Donate Now

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
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  • Email

Highlights

  • COVID-19 impact
  • IPSRH: Focus on Abortion
  • Adding It Up
  • Guttmacher-Lancet Commission
  • U.S. policy resources
  • State policy resources
  • State legislation tracker

Reports

  • Global
  • U.S.

Articles

  • Global research
  • U.S. research
  • Policy analysis
  • Guttmacher Policy Review
  • Op-eds & external blogs

Fact Sheets

  • Global
  • U.S.
  • U.S. State Laws and Policies

Data & Visualizations

  • Data center
  • Infographics

Peer-Reviewed Journals

  • International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
  • Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health

Global

  • Abortion
  • Contraception
  • HIV & STIs
  • Pregnancy
  • Teens

U.S.

  • Abortion
  • Contraception
  • HIV & STIs
  • Pregnancy
  • Teens

Our Work By Geography

  • Global
  • Asia
  • Latin America & the Caribbean
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • United States

Who We Are

  • About us
  • Staff
  • Board
  • Job opportunities
  • History
  • Contact

Media

  • Media office
  • News releases

Support Our Work

  • Make a gift today
  • Monthly Giving Circle
  • Guttmacher Guardians
  • Donate stock or securites
  • Guttmacher Legacy Circle
  • Financials
  • Annual Report

Awards and Scholarships

  • Darroch Award
  • Richards Scholarship

Search form

All Staff

Zara Ahmed

Associate Director of Federal Issues

Zara Ahmed joined the Guttmacher Institute’s public policy team as a Senior Policy Manager in September 2019 and became the Associate Director of Federal Issues in April 2020. In this role, Dr. Ahmed coordinates the Institute’s advocacy agenda at the federal level and develops strategies to advance sexual and reproductive health. She also serves as an expert on U.S. foreign policy related to sexual health and reproductive rights, including funding for international family planning and maternal health programs. Before joining the Institute, Dr. Ahmed spent nearly 10 years with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including seven years based overseas in Rwanda, Namibia and Haiti as a senior technical advisor, and three years as the Associate Director for Policy and Communications in the Division of Global Health Protection at CDC headquarters in Atlanta. Prior to her time with CDC, she worked as a sexual health counselor at an alternative high school in Michigan and as a consultant in Bangladesh on the labor rights of migrant women. Dr. Ahmed has also conducted field research on sex worker rights in Cambodia, health financing in rural Cameroon and donor coordination of malaria programs in Senegal. She holds a BA in political science from Brown University, MPP and MPH degrees from the University of Michigan, and a DrPH from the University of North Carolina, where she is also an adjunct instructor.

Selected Publications

  • February 2021 Policy Analysis

    A Time for Change: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in a New Global Era

    Guttmacher Policy Review

    Global

    • Abortion
  • February 2021 Policy Analysis

    The Case for Ending the “Global Gag Rule” and the Helms Amendment

    Global

    • Abortion
  • February 2021 Policy Analysis

    Just the Start: How the Biden-Harris Administration Must Build on Its Early Actions for Lasting Change

    Global

    • Abortion
    • Contraception
  • January 2021 Policy Analysis

    The Biden-Harris Administration Must Address Trump’s Last-Minute Attempts to Damage Health Care

    United States

    • Abortion
    • Contraception
  • December 2020 Policy Analysis

    The First 100 Days: Biden-Harris Administration Must Use Electoral Mandate to Advance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

    United States

  • November 2020 Policy Analysis

    Reviving Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Biden-Harris Era

  • September 2020 Blog / Letter / Op-ed

    The Trump Administration Wants to Make the Global Gag Rule Even More Harmful

    Ms. Magazine

    Global

    • Abortion
  • September 2020 Policy Analysis

    2021 and Beyond: Key Federal Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues

  • August 2020 Policy Analysis

    From Bad to Worse: The COVID-19 Pandemic Risks Further Undermining Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Many Countries

    Global

    • Abortion
    • Contraception
    • Pregnancy
    • Teens
  • July 2020 Blog / Letter / Op-ed

    Here's Why Congress Must Repeal the Helms Amendment

    NBC

    Global

    • Abortion
  • July 2020 Policy Analysis

    Just $10 Per Person a Year Could Provide Sexual and Reproductive Health Services to All—Will the United States Help Make That Happen?

    Global

    • Abortion
    • Contraception
  • July 2020 Policy Analysis

    More Is Not Enough: It’s Time to Radically Scale Up Funding for Global Family Planning

    Global

    • Contraception
  • July 2020 Policy Analysis

    The United States’ Withdrawal from WHO Is a Shortsighted Tantrum with Lasting Consequences for Sexual and Reproductive Health

    Global

  • June 2020 Blog / Letter / Op-ed

    COVID-19 Could Have Devastating Effects on Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

    New Security Beat

    Global

  • April 2020 Policy Analysis

    The Unprecedented Expansion of the Global Gag Rule: Trampling Rights, Health and Free Speech

    Guttmacher Policy Review

    Global

    • Abortion
    • Contraception
  • April 2020 Policy Analysis

    Crisis on the Horizon: Devastating Losses for Global Reproductive Health Are Possible Due to COVID-19

    Global

  • April 2020 Research Article

    Estimates of the Potential Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

    International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health

    Global

    • Abortion
    • Contraception
    • HIV & STIs
    • Pregnancy
  • April 2020 Policy Analysis

    Nine Things Congress Must Do to Safeguard Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Age of COVID-19

    United States

    • Abortion
    • Contraception
  • March 2020 Policy Analysis

    The COVID-19 Outbreak: Potential Fallout for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

    Global

  • November 2019 Policy Analysis

    The Integration of Family Planning and HIV Services: Fulfilling Our Promises to Young Women

    Global

    • HIV & STIs
    • Teens
  • November 2019 Policy Analysis

    Congress and the Trump Administration Must Support the International Violence Against Women Act

  • October 2019 Policy Analysis

    The Support UNFPA Funding Act: Righting a Policy Wrong

    Global

    • Contraception

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