Melinda Gates: Let's put birth control back on the agenda
梅琳達·蓋茲:把節育放回全球議題
Melinda French Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she puts into practice the idea that every life has equal value. Full bio
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a totally uncontroversial topic.
it's become incredibly controversial.
will have sex with one another.
should be free to decide
都應該可以自由決定
want to conceive a child.
one of these birth control methods
who disagree with this idea.
without any hesitation at all.
to plan their own lives
and more prosperous families.
更富有的家庭。
so broadly accepted in private,
如此廣為接受的想法,
a lot of opposition in public.
when we talk about contraception
──我們就打開天窗說亮話吧──
because it's about sex.
因為這在談性行為。
is to control populations.
是控制人口。
to this core idea that men and women
能決定什麼時候要有小孩。
when they want to have a child.
almost completely and totally disappeared
are the people of sub-Saharan Africa
是撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲人
that use contraception
大眾使用避孕法的比例
one of the largest states in India.
was its own country,
country in the world.
country in Africa, 10 percent.
最密集的國家,10%。
in Africa, Senegal.
contraceptives are rarely available.
最普遍使用的避孕用品。
over and over again
is an injectable.
and they go about four times a year,
一年打四次,
to get their injection.
is they can hide it from their husbands,
是她們可以向丈夫隱瞞,
a woman goes into a clinic in Senegal,
to go get her injection.
sometimes leaves her children,
有時候還得丟下孩子,
when it's going to be available again.
什麼時候才會再進貨。
across the continent of Africa today.
每天都在非洲大陸上演。
has become a life-and-death crisis.
已經變成生死存亡的危機。
who say they don't want to be pregnant
她們不想要懷孕,
100,000 women a year.
每年十萬名婦女!
in the first place,
in that first month of life.
these mothers and these children.
這些母親及孩子,
we got confused by our own conversation.
我們卻被自己的爭論困惑。
progress on this issue,
這項議題上有進展,
about what our agenda is.
我們的意圖是什麼。
about population control.
the power to save their lives,
自己生命的權力,
the best possible future.
in the global health community
better in the future --
有更美好的未來,
as you heard earlier, and pneumonia.
今天有太多孩子死於腹瀉及肺炎。
millions of children a year.
數百萬名孩童。
small plots of land in Africa --
to feed their children.
足夠的食物餵養孩子。
children are educated around the world.
全世界孩童都能受教育。
and most transformative things we can do
又能帶來改變的事,
to birth control methods
都能取得節育的方法,
and all Americans, at some point,
美國人能拿到一樣,
使用這些用品。
about what our agenda is,
我們的意圖是什麼,
waiting to happen
this totally uncontroversial idea.
完全沒有爭議的想法。
I grew up in a Catholic home.
a practicing Catholic.
為虔誠的天主教徒。
and a principal her entire life.
as a young girl how to read.
教我認字的人。
for my entire childhood
a high priority in the school.
that I learned in high school.
應用高中所學之道。
to question received teachings.
要質疑接受到的教誨。
and my peers questioned
常質疑的一項教條,
talking about contraception
we're going to promote promiscuity.
我們就在鼓勵淫亂。
to be asked about contraception --
接下來這個問題就得提出來談──
had nothing to do with promiscuity.
I wanted to go to college.
我想去上大學。
female computer science graduates
電腦科學系少數女性畢業生之一。
so I went on to business school
所以我進了商學院,
female executives at Microsoft.
年輕女性高級主管一員。
when I left my parents' home
to start this new job at Microsoft.
開始新工作時的一景。
to give me five years of higher education.
讓我接受五年的高等教育。
down the porch at home --
台階的時候──
this great education,
and have kids right away,
that would make me the very happiest.
讓自己最幸福的事。
when I was ready.
比爾和我有三個孩子。
exactly sure how to be great parents.
怎麼當好父母。
before we had our second child.
才懷第二個孩子。
that we have three children
the very most for my children?
我最想要給我的孩子什麼?
跟我當時的感覺一樣,
they want to do in life.
for the foundation around the world
在全世界奔走時,
in one called Korogocho --
一個叫科羅哥丘的貧民窟,
"standing shoulder to shoulder."
「比肩繼踵 」的意思。
that's pictured here.
當地婦女團體談話。
about their family life in the slums,
她們在貧民窟中的生活
about what they did for birth control.
她們如何節育。
in the red sweater,
two-hour conversation
every good thing to this child
every good thing to our children.
to provide every good thing.
卻非普世皆然。
from domestic violence.
broach the subject of contraception,
who lack basic education.
who do have knowledge and do have power
有能力的女性
to have smaller families.
for a quarter of a millennium,
250 年來都是如此,
of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
就是撒哈拉以南的非洲及南亞。
their family size in the mid-1700s.
開始減少家庭人口。
this trend spread all across Europe.
這個潮流席捲歐洲。
as I learned this history,
lines but around cultural lines.
而是以文化為基礎傳播。
made that change as a group.
以團體的形式做出改變。
for their family,
or whether they were poor.
toward smaller families spread
was driven by an idea --
can exercise conscious control
the ability to affect the future,
went down every decade
每十年就縮小一次,
until it stabilized.
the contraceptives weren't that good.
過去的避孕效果不太好。
in the 1880s, and it took just 50 years
然後只花了 50 年
to stabilize in this country.
the transition started in the 1960s,
轉變始於 1960 年代,
because of modern contraception.
這種轉變發展更快。
it's important to pause for a moment
我們必須暫停一下,
such a contentious issue.
如此受爭論的議題。
and coercive policies.
adopted very specific numeric targets
印度採用非常具體的數字目標,
having an IUD placed in their bodies.
讓她們在體內裝上子宮環。
really smart in this situation.
they got paid six rupees.
就會得到六盧比。
and had the IUD removed for one rupee.
付一盧比取出子宮環。
were sterilized without their consent.
就被強迫絕育。
the Mississippi appendectomy --
were given anesthesia
還被施以麻醉,
without their knowledge.
weren't even needed.
wanted to lower their family size.
老早就想減少家庭人數。
again and again,
一次又一次地看見,
to have smaller families.
have innately different desires.
they will have fewer children.
她們會少生幾個孩子。
all women get what they want now?
所有女性得到她們想要的嗎?
to some century-long struggle,
困在過去數百年的掙扎中,
was coitus interruptus?
it doesn't need justification.
這不需要理由。
to bring every good thing to our children
I met a young businesswoman,
我遇見一名年輕的女生意人,
out of her home.
would go to the local jeans factory
會去當地的牛仔褲工廠
and resell them.
she had three children,
她有三個小孩,
having children after their third one.
she simply said,
她的回答很簡單:
my business if I had another child."
就不能做生意了。」
that she was getting out of her business
an education to all three of her children.
about her family's future.
of men and women have gone through.
that they have it exactly right.
more opportunities
就能給孩子更好的機會。
over when they have them.
on over 180,000 inhabitants since 1963.
超過十八萬居民收集數據。
pieces of research that's been running.
史上最長的研究。
很棒的健康統計數字。
你猜他們做什麼?
were chosen to get contraceptives.
and access to contraception.
並學會如何使用。
following those villages,
quality of life than their neighbors.
比鄰居更好。
to die in childbirth.
to die in the first thirty days of life.
在滿月前夭折。
things like livestock or land or savings.
像是更多家畜、土地或儲蓄。
had more schooling.
of effects over millions of families,
乘上數百萬家庭,
economic development.
economic miracle of the 1980s --
亞洲經濟奇蹟,
of economic growth across that region
主要原因之一,
towards smaller families.
at the individual family level --
必須從各個家庭開始,
about what's best for their children.
什麼對他們的孩子最好。
and that decision,
這樣的決定,
regional and national trends.
are given the opportunity
非洲家庭有了這樣的機會,
a virtuous cycle of development
整個非洲大陸的社區內
build a better future.
創造更好的前景。
have the opportunity
所有人都有機會
to the full variety of methods.
that women want.
both rich and poor governments alike
意味著無論貧富,
都必須將避孕列為優先。
in this room and globally,
我們都要盡自己的力量去告訴大家,
of millions of families
to contraception today
their lives if they did have access.
生活會有什麼樣的改變。
and the members of her women's group
及她的婦女團體成員
out amongst themselves and in public,
及在公眾前談這件事,
to bring every good thing to our children.
我們都想給孩子最好的一切。
and everything else.
say something to the effect of,
大概是這個意思,
about the population issue anymore.
naturally all over the world.
at nine or 10 billion. And that's it."
達到高峰。就這樣。」
at the statistics across Africa,
如果你看非洲的統計數字,
though, from a different lens.
要從不同的角度看這件事。
from the ground upwards.
we got ourselves in so much trouble
陷入這麼大麻煩的原因之一。
population numbers over time.
我們想要有不同的人口數。
Yes, we need to make the right choices.
是,我們需要做正確的決定。
at the family level.
and letting them choose what to do
及讓他們選擇要做什麼,
that we have seen globally --
在全球看到的徹底改變,
places in South Asia and Afghanistan.
及南亞幾個地方和阿富汗。
around the world
lives and empowering women and so on.
及賦權女性等等是很好。
is going to increase the likelihood
that sex is absolutely sacred.
and it's sacred in the United States,
性在美國也是神聖的,
and so many places around the world.
在全世界許多地方都是。
in my country who are sexually experienced
說她們節育
doesn't make sex any less sacred.
to make choices about their lives.
怎樣過生活。
the sacredness of the family
by saving their lives.
因為這拯救了他們的生命。
doing to promote this issue?
如何宣導這項議題?
and people listening on the web --
又可以做什麼?
join the conversation.
Join the conversation.
參與對話。
has either changed your life
如何改變了妳的生活,
of people saying, "This makes sense.
「這很有道理。
no matter where they live."
無論她們住在哪裡。」
that we're going to do
舉辦一場大型活動,
a whole host of African nations,
on the global health agenda.
放回全球健康議題。
from the bottom up with governments
want the tool, they have it,
lots of options available
their local healthcare worker
of those nuns who taught you at school
我猜某些在學校教過妳的修女
this TED Talk at some point.
or are they cheering you on?
或是為妳加油打氣?
to see the TED Talk
而且我也計畫要送一份給她們。
and I plan to send it to them.
were incredibly progressive.
想法都非常先進,
about social justice and service.
她們教導的社會正義及服務。
incredibly passionate about this issue
我對這項議題的熱情,
in the developing world.
has become very close to heart
已成為我全心關注的重點,
and they are so often voiceless.
她們常常沒有發言權。
they should have access.
她們應該要有管道。
what I've learned from them
從她們身上學到的東西,
that I've already done at the foundation.
today an amazing group of speakers
為我們帶來非常棒的講員。
I have so many follow-up questions.
我有好多後續問題想問。
of this work is a journey.
很大部分是心路歷程。
about the journey through energy,
on this platform?"
on these development issues,
從事發展議題的人而言,
You learn by trying and making mistakes.
從嘗試、從錯中學,
that helps lead to the answer
that can help you answer it.
for the panelists from today.
想問今天的講員。
all of us on this journey with you.
謝謝妳邀我們與妳同行。
MG: Great. Thanks, Chris.
梅:謝謝克里斯。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melinda Gates - PhilanthropistMelinda French Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she puts into practice the idea that every life has equal value.
Why you should listen
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. As co-chair, Melinda French Gates helps shape and approve strategies, review results, advocate for foundation issues and set the overall direction. In developing countries, the foundation focuses on improving people's health with vaccines and other life-saving tools and giving them a chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to dramatically improve education so that all young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
In recent years, Melinda French Gates has become a vocal advocate for access to contraception, advancing the idea that empowering women to decide whether and when to have children can have transformational effects on societies. In 2012, Gates spearheaded the London Summit on Family Planning, with the goal of delivering contraceptives to 120 million women in developing countries by 2020. When asked why she got involved in this issue, Gates said, "We knew that 210 million women were saying they wanted access to the contraceptives we have here in the United States and we weren't providing them because of political controversy in our country. To me, that was just a crime. I kept looking around trying to find the person to get this back on the global stage. I realized I just had to do it."
Melinda Gates | Speaker | TED.com