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FAMILY PLANNING
encourages better reproductive health and broader
choices in life. But 20 to 25 per cent of couples in developing countries
need better access to contraceptives. There are still 120 million couples
who want to space the births of their children or stop having children but
are not using contraception, and this number does not include unmarried
individuals. In addition to efforts aimed at women, UNFPA undertakes many
innovative projects with men to increase male responsibility for family
planning and improve women's status and health.
- In Iran, 100 religious leaders, merchants and teachers received
training in 2000 to remove cultural barriers to the use of reproductive
health and family planning services.
- In Uganda, a mass media campaign was launched to improve male
involvement in family planning and maternal health, which sparked public
interest and debate.
- In Bangladesh, UNFPA cosponsored the first international seminar and
training on non-scalpel vasectomy, which was attended by representatives
from seven Asian countries.
- In Ecuador, UNFPA supported the drafting and introduction of new
national reproductive health care norms and protocols in 2000.
We also work to improve the quality of care. In 2000, UNFPA
collaborated on the publication of a new reference manual that contains
medical eligibility criteria for different types of contraceptives to help
determine which type is the safest and most appropriate for each person.
The manual is based on the latest clinical and epidemiological data and is
published by the World Health Organization.
Contraceptive use has increased dramatically in the past four decades,
from around 10 per cent in 1960 to almost 60 per cent today. Demand is
expected to increase by a further 40 per cent over the next 15 years. But
donor support for contraceptives has been declining since 1996, resulting
in contraceptive shortfalls in every region. The most severe shortages are
in sub-Saharan Africa, where condoms are urgently needed to prevent the
further spread of AIDS.
COMMODITY SECURITY is a top priority for UNFPA. Contraceptive and
reproductive health supplies are crucial to enable people to avoid HIV
infection and plan their families, and for countries to meet their
population and development goals. UNFPA is the world's largest distributor
of condoms. In September 2000, UNFPA launched a new global strategy for
reproductive health commodity security, which quickly brought close to $80
million in support from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Improving
the status of women and girls is a top priority for
UNFPA. In 2000, we produced Women's
Empowerment and Reproductive Health an advocacy
booklet to raise awareness among policy makers and health care
professionals.
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UNFPA
is working in many countries to increase the
number of births attended by skilled health care
personnel. Here, a woman receives prenatal
care from a midwife in Rajasthan, India.
Photo:
Viviane Moos |
The
strategy is designed to build national capacity and sustainable approaches
to contraceptive supply and delivery through public, private and
non-governmental partnerships. A new unit at UNFPA Headquarters is guiding
the effort in cooperation with the Procurement Section, and field offices
are working to ensure strategic coordination at the national level.
SAFE MOTHERHOOD is high on UNFPA's agenda. Today some 514,000 women die
each year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, and most of the
deaths could be prevented through prompt treatment. The risk of dying in
childbirth in developing countries is one in 48, compared to one in 1,800
in developed countries. UNFPA supports a variety of measures in over 100 countries to reduce
high rates of maternal mortality – from educating communities on safe
motherhood to training health care providers in emergency obstetrics and
equipping health facilities with proper supplies. We cooperate closely
with WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank. UNFPA is a key member of the Safe
Motherhood Initiative, which has been working since 1987 to develop
policies and programmes to protect women during pregnancy and childbirth.
We are also a member of the Inter-Agency Group on Safe Motherhood.
In April 2000, the Inter-Agency Group convened a meeting with leading
experts on maternal mortality to develop key strategies to provide skilled
attendance at delivery. In November, the Group organized an international
conference in Tunisia, "Saving Lives: Skilled Attendance at
Childbirth", which brought together country teams from sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia to share experiences and develop national
strategies. Four countries – Botswana, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia
– shared their experiences in securing higher rates of skilled
attendance at delivery, and seven countries – Bangladesh, Burkina Faso,
Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda – gained invaluable
insight from which to plan their own national strategies.
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