Dr. Carmen Barroso

International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR)

A widely acknowledged leader in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights, Dr. Carmen Barroso has led IPPF/WHR since 2003. Under Dr. Barroso’s direction, the organization now combines quality health services with powerful advocacy in defense of sexual and reproductive rights. Previously, she served for twelve years as Director of the Population & Reproductive Health Program of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, funding hundreds of NGOs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and helping to bring the voices of women in the developing world to international policy fora. She has been the Hubert Humphrey Distinguished Professor at Macalester College and professor of sociology at the University of São Paulo. As a senior researcher with the Chagas Foundation, Dr. Barroso had a pioneer role in creating Brazil’s first and foremost women’s studies center. She is the author of numerous books and articles, both in academic journals and in the popular press. She was a founding member of DAWN, a network of Third World women, and of the Funders Network on Population, Reproductive Health and Rights. Dr. Barroso holds a PhD in Social Psychology from Columbia University and has been a Visiting Scholar at Cornell University.

Cervical Cancer is Preventable. Let’s Make it a Global Priority

Diseases such as diabetes and cancer cause tens of millions of deaths each year, many of which are premature. Once the burden of rich countries, these non-communicable diseases are increasingly affecting individuals in low- and middle-income countries where they impose heavy burdens on already fragile health systems. Among the most deadly—and preventable—of these diseases is cervical cancer.

Pointing Toward the Future: How Environmental and Women’s Rights Groups Can Work Together to Solve Global Problems

As part of our series on Seven Billion People, Rewire asks two experts, Dr. Carmen Barroso, Director of International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region, and Carl Pope, former Executive Director and current Chairman of the Sierra Club, to explain the connections between environmental and population issues and how the movements can work together.