“[F]amily planning is one of the best public health interventions that can be made,” U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer said in an interview with Amar Bakshi, editor of CNN World’s “Global Public Square” (GPS) blog, adding, “It makes such a difference in a woman’s life for her to be able to have the wherewithal — the family planning contraceptives available so that she can decide the size and the spacing of her children.”

“I think we all know this a sound public health tool. It is one we support. It is part of the Global Health Initiative that the United States has been supporting,” Verveer said, according to the blog. In the interview, Verveer spoke “about the effect of the Arab Spring on women, the great costs of gender discrimination, the role of religion and culture in repression and much more,” the blog notes. A video recording of the interview is included in the blog post (3/15).