Another push for reproductive rights
17 June 2011
Source: Pam Johnson, IPS*
By 2015, women demanding family planning services in the developing world will likely reach 933 million, a terrific increase from the current 818 million women demanding access to these basic reproductive commodities - requiring significant increases in donor funding for voluntary family planning programmes.
The contraceptive pill: in developing countries demand for contraceptives is increasing yet there are shortages of reproductive health commodities.
© 2003 David Alexander/CCP, Courtesy of Photoshare.
Increased demand requires increased funding
These new figures have been made available by the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC). In addition, according to RHSC the number of family planning users will soar from 603 million to 709 million - an increase of 64 million users across 66 developing countries, and 42 million spanning 89 middle-income countries - by the middle of the decade.
The increased cost associated with this skyrocketing demand is an estimated 5.7 billion dollars per annum for both low- and middle-income countries - including the expenses of procuring more contraceptive commodities, securing transportation for the products, expanding communication capabilities to educate the public, and stepping up training for health providers to distribute reproductive products and services.
Over 200 million women denied access to contraception
"Today, there are over 200 million women in the developing world who want to prevent or delay pregnancy, but are not using any means of modern contraception," John Skibiak, director of the RHSC, wrote earlier this month.
"This is, without a doubt, a horrifying figure. But the greatest tragedy for us - those of us who have dedicated our professional lives to ensuring global access to family planning - is that this figure has not budged in nearly two decades... Each step forward is more than matched by comparable increases in demand in new users, [so] despite our best efforts, we are caught in a deadlock."
Renewed effort is needed to ensure universal access
According to Skibiak, 424 million dollars worth of commodities will be needed to satisfy demand for contraceptives by the year 2020, in donor-dependent countries alone.
If donor funding continues at its current rate, the world can expect a shortfall of nearly 200 million dollars annually, or a total deficit of 1.4 billion dollars between 2008 and 2020.
"What we need now is a reinvigorated effort to ensure [reproductive health and commodity security]," Skibiak said. "True contraceptive security exists when every person is able to choose, obtain and use quality contraceptives and condoms for family planning and for the prevention of HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections."
This call for action was made in advance of RHSC's two-day-long Access for All Conference taking place in Ethiopia next week, harnessing voices and strategies from the health community to meet the challenges of the coming decade.
*This article, originally published by IPS, has been reproduced by PSN. Minor changes and cuts may have been made for the purpose of brevity and relevance.