International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR), International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC), and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) along with 313 organizations urged President Obama to endorse the Mexico City Declaration on Sex Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.  These sexual and reproductive health and rights advocates and program implementers who work on a range of issues including  prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) submitted a letter to President Obama on April 9, 2009 in preparation for his attendance of the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, taking place April 16-18, 2009, encouraging support for this initiative in the Latin American and Caribbean region, as well as aligning the United States with this approach to HIV-prevention. The Summit which is convened by a number of multilateral bodies under the coordination of the Organization of American States draws national leaders from throughout the hemisphere. The theme of this year’s Summit is “Securing Our Citizens' Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability.”

In August 2008, just prior to the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, the Mexican government, in coordination with many partners, convened a high level meeting of ministers of health and education from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean region.  These officials assembled to address the need to scale-up comprehensive sexuality education as a foundation for curbing sexually transmitted infections, with a specific emphasis on HIV/AIDS.

Nearly every country in the region was in attendance and ultimately committed themselves to a fundamental system change in the delivery of sexuality education in their countries.  These commitments resulted in the Mexico City Declaration on Sex Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, a document unparalleled in its commitment by governments to specifically address the critically important role that comprehensive sexuality education can play in achieving better health outcomes in the region.

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