Increased access to family planning has proven to be a sound economic investment. One third of the growth of Asian “tiger” economies is attributed to a demographic shift in which the number of income-generating adults became higher than those who depended on them for support. This shift, says the report, was a consequence of family planning and brought increased productivity, leading to economic development in the region.
And the benefits are not just economic. The report finds that the costs of ignoring the right to family planning include poverty, exclusion, poor health and gender inequality
Family planning delivers immeasurable rewards to women, families, and communities around the world. By enabling individuals to choose the number and spacing of their children, family planning has allowed women, and their children, to live healthier, longer lives.
“Family planning has a positive multiplier effect on development,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin. “Not only does the ability for a couple to choose when and how many children to have help lift nations out of poverty, but it is also one of the most effective means of empowering women. Women who use contraception are generally healthier, better educated, more empowered in their households and communities and more economically productive. Women’s increased labour-force participation boosts nations’ economies.”
The State of World Population 2012 says that governments, civil society, health providers and communities have the responsibility to protect the right to family planning for women across the spectrum, including those who are young or unmarried.
Investment in family planning would save lives by preventing unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
However, money is just one part of the solution. To ensure that every person’s right to family planning is realized, the report also calls on governments and leaders to:
- Take or reinforce a rights-based approach to family planning
· Secure an emphasis on family planning in the global sustainable development agenda that will follow the Millennium Development Goals in 2015
- Ensure equality by focusing on specific excluded groups
- Raise the funds to invest fully in family planning.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Office of the United Nations Population Fund welcomes the adoption of the Decision on the adoption of the policy of sexual and reproductive health in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Council of Ministers adopted in September this year. Adopting policy including family planning and reproductive health commodity security policies is an important step for improving health of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Family planning is not a privilege, but a right. Yet, too many women—and men—are denied this human right,” said Dr. Osotimehin. “The pledge we made in July in London to increase access to family planning will improve the lives of millions and will each year help avert 200,000 maternal deaths. As we approach the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, I call on all leaders to build on this momentum, close the funding gap, and make voluntary family planning a development priority.”
