The United Nations was founded 70 years ago. In that time, the world has seen enormous advances in sexual and reproductive health. These changes have helped policymakers recognize that healthy and empowered women are themselves drivers of prosperity and progress.

When Nepal's devastating April earthquake struck, Tanka Kumari Bishankhe's home was badly damaged, and the family planning card she used to track her contraceptive injections disappeared in the chaos. Unable to determine when she was next due for her contraceptive shot, Ms....

“My parents had many children, and they couldn’t afford to send us to school,” said So Pumngea, 24, in Cambodia’s rural Kratie Province. “Before, families had to stay poor.” But today, Ms. So has a powerful tool to help her break free of the cycle of poverty: family planning.