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Message from Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA
Reproduced by AlterPresse
Fifty years ago, at the United Nations International Conference on Human Rights held In Tehran on May 13, 1968, the international community declared that "parents have the fundamental right to freely and consciously determine the size of their families and the timing of births."
Family planning is not only a question relating to human rights. It is also essential for women's empowerment, poverty reduction and sustainable development.
Yet in developing regions, some 214 million women still do not have safe and effective methods of family planning for reasons ranging from lack of information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities. These deficiencies threaten their ability to build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.
UNFPA works for family planning in developing countries by ensuring the reliable supply of comprehensive range of modern contraceptives, strengthening national health systems and promoting gender equality.
UNFPA is fully committed to continuing to support country-led efforts to uphold human rights individuals, especially women, to plan a family. We aim to address all unmet needs for voluntary family planning in developing countries by 2030. But we can not do it alone. Governments, parliamentarians, the private sector and civil society must come together to achieve this goal. As a first step, developed countries could fill the global gap in family planning funding by giving only 20 cents per person per year. Given the expected benefits to families, societies and nations, this would be a strategic and achievable investment for the future of our world.
On this World Population Day, UNFPA calls on governments to fulfill their commitments to universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services and reproductive rights, including family planning and related information services, as agreed during the meeting. 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By investing in family planning today, we are investing in the health and well-being of millions of women for future generations.
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