The United Nations considers family planning--planning when to have children and using contraceptives and other techniques to implement these plans--to be key to achieving Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. According to a study by the London School of Economics, "UN data suggests that meeting unmet need for family planning would reduce unintended births by 72 percent, reducing projected world population in 2050 by half a billion to 8.64 million."
Role of Contraceptives
According to the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA, declining fertility rates in particular areas of Asia shown in a recent study were the result of an increase in the prevalence of contraceptives. The study acknowledges that various additional factors, like socioeconomic development or strong family planning programs in the absence of development, have played a role in reducing fertility.
Population Growth
Understanding population dynamics is important because as the world population grows the pressure on limited supplies of natural resources will increase, placing more people--most critically, those in the poorest countries--at risk of not having access to the food, water and land they need to survive. According to the UNFPA, "high fertility" countries, where large numbers of children for each women are common, would be well served to emphasize reproductive health programs, including family planning, and to ensure that services are accessible and affordable to couples who would like to practice contraception.
Climate Change
The London School of Economics issued a report concluding that family planning is an exceptionally cost-effective way to reduce global carbon emissions. According to the study, every $6 spent on family planning through 2049 would reduce global carbon emissions by 1 ton; by comparison, it would take an investment of at least $30 in low-cost technologies to achieve the same result. According to UN estimates, 40 percent of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended, so providing contraceptives in family planning programs would give families more control while limiting population pressures on the global environment.
Impact of Family Planning
According to the UNFPA asserts that contraception can prevent 2.7 million infant deaths each year. Contraception can reduce poverty, slow population growth and ease environmental pressure. The concept of family planning is still surrounded by misconceptions--many debunked by health experts--and by societal pressures. But education and materials would provide access to family planning to the estimated 200 million women across the world who seek to delay or prevent pregnancy, and it could help avoid unintended pregnancies, ill health and maternal death.
Family Planning in the United States
A federal grant program within the Office of Population Affairs, Title X Family Planning, provides individuals in the United States with comprehensive family planning and related preventative health services, prioritizing individuals from low-income families. In 2010, approximately $317 million was appropriated for family planning activities under this program. In approximately 75 percent of U.S. counties there is at least one clinic that receives funds and provides services.
References
- United Nations Population Fund: A Global Need For Family Planning
- Telegraph: Contraception Cheapest Way To Combat Climate Change
- AllAfrica: Nigeria--Family Planning--Experts Proffer Solutions To Reduce Maternal Deaths
- U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services--Office Of Population Affairs: Family Planning
- End Poverty 2015: Child Health; Maternal Health
