Every woman has right to family planning, says UN agency
At London Family Planning Summit, UNFPA Welcomes New Funding and Commits to Upholding Women’s Basic Human Right to Family Planning
London, 11 July 2012 — The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today pledged to ensure that every woman has the right to access family planning and called on governments across the globe to follow the UK’s example and invest vital resources.
, Executive Director of UNFPA said that increased international investment would mean that “millions of mothers will be healthier, and so will their children.”
Welcoming the substantial pledges from UK Government, other donors, and partners announced today at the London Family Planning Summit to mark World Population Day, Dr. Babatunde said:
“The resources and political commitments pledged at the summit will make the difference between the life and death for millions of young women in the developing world. It will also reduce countless maternal injuries. UNFPA will almost double the proportion of its programme funds devoted to family planning from 25 per cent to 40 per cent.”
The London Summit, organized by UK Government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with UNFPA and other partners, is an unprecedented initiative to give 120 million more women in developing countries access to voluntary family planning by 2020. To achieve that goal, the Summit seeks to mobilize the political will and extra resources needed to increase the demand and support for family planning.
In other parts of the globe, World Population Day marked by a variety of events organized by UNFPA and its national partners. Activities ranged from exhibitions, essay contests and TV and radio shows and debates, to media workshops, poster and billboard campaigns and press conferences, underscoring the need for universal access to reproductive health services, especially voluntary family planning.
“With its 40 some years of experience and track record in family planning, I am proud to say that UNFPA is enabling women—and men—to make their own reproductive decisions within a framework of human rights,” said Dr. Osotimehin.
“We know how to address the logistical, cultural, societal and economic barriers to access. We know how to reach the most vulnerable and those with the greatest need. We know that voluntary accessible family planning is the key that unlocks the door to sustainable development,” he added.
“Today,” said Dr. Osotimehin, “I commit myself and all of us at UNFPA to fully support this global effort to make sure every woman everywhere is free to exercise this most basic right.” He pledged to “to continue transforming and reforming UNFPA to be a global leader in family planning; to work with all stakeholders to satisfy the unmet need of an additional 120 million women; and to respect and preserve the rights of women and girls, men and boys that would enable them to fulfil their potentials.
“If we succeed, and we will,” he added, “millions more women will finally have the power to decide how many children to have and when. Millions more adolescent girls will be able to avoid unintended pregnancies, stay in school and realize their full potential.”
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that is delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
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