One in five women need access to contraceptives and information to plan for pregnancy
A new report was released in London by Family Planning 2020 (FP2020), a global partnership that is working with governments, civil society, multilateral organisations, donors, the private sector and the research and development community to enable 120 million more women and girls to use contraceptives by 2020. Named “Partnership in Progress”, the report details the accomplishments of the world’s governments and supporting partners towards realising their 2012 commitment to the rights of women and girls to decide freely, and for themselves, whether, when and how many children they want.
In 2012, at the London Summit on Family Planning, the Government of India committed to providing 48 million additional women and girls with access to contraceptives by 2020. As a result, today, more women and girls than ever before have access to family planning. In 2013 alone, three million additional women and girls in India were equipped with the tools and information they needed to choose a modern contraceptive method.
However, the report shows that there is still a long way to go. In India, around one in five women of reproductive age do not want to get pregnant but are not using a modern method of contraception. Contraceptive methods other than sterilisation, condoms, and OC pills are not widely available and, as the number of women and girls of reproductive age is increasing, access to critical tools and services must be expanded to meet this increased demand.
“We know that giving women access to the tools and information they need to time and space their pregnancies will improve their health, and the health of their newborns and children. At the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, we are committed to realising India’s commitment to FP2020, by meeting India’s unmet need for family planning”, said Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, RCH at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
“We applaud the commitment the Government of India has demonstrated to FP2020. As a result, more women and girls than ever before have access to voluntary family planning in India. Continued commitment to expanding access to contraceptives will go a long way towards preventing unnecessary maternal and child deaths and ensuring the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls,” said Ms. Elizabeth Schlachter, Director FP2020.
“When women lack access to contraceptives to time and space their pregnancies, their infants are also at risk. Research has consistently shown that babies born less than two years after the previous child are more than twice as likely to die in the first year as those born after an interval of three years. At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we are committed to partnering with the Government of India to help realise the vision of FP2020 in India” said Girindre Beeharry, Director, India Country Office, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
EH News Bureau