{"id":39519,"date":"2017-06-29T09:25:39","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T08:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=39519"},"modified":"2017-07-06T16:39:28","modified_gmt":"2017-07-06T15:39:28","slug":"ann-starrs-a-critical-moment-to-increase-investments-in-womens-family-planning-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2017\/06\/29\/ann-starrs-a-critical-moment-to-increase-investments-in-womens-family-planning-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Ann Starrs: A critical moment to increase investments in women\u2019s family planning needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Investments in sexual and reproductive health are critical for saving lives and reducing ill-health among women and their children<\/p>\n

\"\"Today, 214 million women in developing countries<\/a> want to avoid pregnancy but are not using a modern method of contraception. While this is a daunting number, it reflects a decline from 225 million women<\/a> with unmet need for modern contraception just three years ago\u2014notwithstanding an increase in the number of women of reproductive age in the intervening years.<\/p>\n

This steady progress is a direct result of global commitments to address women\u2019s sexual and reproductive health needs\u2014including by investing in contraceptive services. The United States has long been a global leader in funding family planning programs in the world\u2019s poorest countries. This standing, however, is now threatened by the policies of the Trump administration that threaten to reverse the United States\u2019 long-held development goal of improving health worldwide.<\/p>\n

On his first business day in office, President Trump signed an executive policy that not only reimposed, but expanded the global gag rule<\/a>, blocking all US global health assistance to foreign nongovernmental organizations that use their own funding to engage in abortion-related services, referrals, or advocacy. Beyond its effect on abortion-related services, the global gag rule bans the most effective and trusted providers of family planning services from receiving US aid if they refuse to abide by it. The ultimate irony is that\u2014by undermining access to family planning services and denying women the tools that they need to prevent unwanted pregnancies\u2014the gag rule contributes to the very thing it purportedly seeks to reduce: the likelihood of abortion.<\/p>\n

Continuing its attacks, the administration announced in March that it would defund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)<\/a>, one of the leading providers of sexual and reproductive health services in the world. And in May, the administration called for the outright elimination of all US international family planning aid. This year alone, this funding made it possible for 26 million women<\/a> and couples to receive contraceptive services and supplies, averting eight million unintended pregnancies and 15,000 maternal deaths.<\/p>\n

These policies will have a direct effect on millions of women. Investments in sexual and reproductive health are critical for saving lives and reducing ill-health among women and their children\u2014and for fulfilling their internationally recognized right to good health. Investing in reproductive and sexual health services in developing regions is key to reducing poverty and promoting development, and saves money overall. New research by the Guttmacher Institute<\/a> shows that:<\/p>\n