Mission & Aims
PSN is an international network bringing together development, environment and reproductive health organisations, government departments and policy research organisations to clarify and increase awareness of the importance for sustainable development of both population and consumption factors.
Our mission is:
To increase the prominence of population dynamics within the priorities of governments, policy research bodies and NGOs (development and environment) in order to increase support for and investment in voluntary family planning and reproductive health services that respect and protect rights as part of existing development priorities, including maternal health (MDG 5) and the protection of the environment (MDG 7), and emerging priorities, such as climate change and fragile states.
An overview of the rationale for increasing investment in family planning programmes, which is a highly cost-effective strategy with the potential to contribute to a wide-range of development priorities is presented here.
PSN aims:
To highlight the impacts of unsustainable population increase on economic development, poverty alleviation and the natural environment, work to remove barriers that inhibit discussion and action on population matters and promote greater awareness of the importance of population planning among policy makers, media and the general public.
To increase awareness of the significance of population dynamics for sustainable development - including changes in population growth rates, age structures and distributions of people influences by urbanization and migration etc. - and the critical relationships between population, reproductive health and the environment. To promote the adequate provision of reproductive healthcare facilities and education for the 222 million women and their partners in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy but do not have access to modern contraceptives, often because of non-availability of family planning services.
To encourage better understanding of the problems caused by unsustainable consumption (particularly in the rich minority world) - especially as they relate to climate change, pressure on finite resources and biodiversity.