Progress made, but more is needed

Progress was also made towards achieving UNFPA’s three transformative results – ending preventable maternal deaths, ending unmet need for family planning, and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices. In some cases, the pace of progress even accelerated over rates seen the previous decade. However, further acceleration is needed to meet our objectives.

Ending preventable maternal deaths

Between 2000 and 2017, the world saw a 35 per cent reduction in maternal mortality. New global estimates are not yet available to show progress made in 2017-2021. Still, there are indications that increased investments in maternal health and health system strengthening are having an impact — including the growing number of midwives trained to international standards.

Tragically, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, progress proved too slow to reach the Sustainable Development Goal target on reducing maternal mortality, and there is evidence that the pandemic may have negatively affected these efforts.

Ending the unmet need for family planning

Unmet need for family planning declined between 2018-2021, and the rate of decline was slightly greater in some regions compared to the previous four-year period. Globally, 49 per cent of women or their partners were using at least one method of contraception, representing an achievement of 77 per cent of the strategic plan target. And by 2021, 77 per cent of women of reproductive age were meeting their family planning needs with modern methods, representing an achievement of 93 per cent of the strategic plan target.

Still, the rate of reduction is not sufficient to end the unmet need for family planning by 2030.

Globally, the proportion of women of reproductive age who have an unmet need for family planning remained around 9 per cent in the past two decades. The most recent data show that nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended, and many result in unsafe abortions; this contributes to the high number of maternal deaths.

Ending gender-based violence and all harmful practices, including female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage

Data on the global prevalence of gender-based violence remains scarce, and pandemic-related disruptions have hindered the collection of reliable data during the past four years. Data from 2000 to 2018 indicates that an estimated 736 million women – almost 1 in 3 – have been subjected to intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence or both at least once during their lifetime. Further evidence during the pandemic, such as calls to helplines and online search results, point to the rise of a so-called shadow pandemic of gender-based violence during COVID-19 lockdowns. Despite these grim facts, there are promising signs that attitudes and norms are changing around the world. Global commitments at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD in 2019 and at the Generation Equality forum in 2021 showed strong international conviction that progress for humanity cannot be achieved without the safety and participation of women and girls.

Since 2000, the prevalence of female genital mutilation has declined by 25 per cent, with a faster rate of reduction seen between 2015 and 2020 compared to the period from 2010 to 2015. Additionally, data shows us that 25 million child marriages were averted in the past decade, thanks to accelerated progress in eliminating the practice. Still, as is the case with all of UNFPA’s transformative results, the pace of decline has been uneven, and it remains insufficient to meet the 2030 target.

As the organization embarks on the next phase of its journey to 2030, its 2022-2025 strategic plan, the lessons from these last four years will be critical. They show us that progress can be made even under seemingly impossible conditions. Now we must dramatically accelerate that progress with investment and action.