SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Over the past three decades, the world has made substantial progress towards improving reproductive health and slowing population growth, but many challenges remain. Contraceptive use has greatly increased, resulting in steep declines in family size, but there is still a large unmet need for family planning in many developing countries and among young people. HIV/AIDS infections and deaths are rising, and deaths in pregnancy and childbirth show little sign of declining. The lack of adequate reproductive health care accounts for over three million largely preventable deaths each year, almost all in developing countries. Meanwhile, the momentum of population growth continues to erode economic gains in many developing countries, contributing to the widening gap in living standards between rich and poor nations.

Donor and Developing Country Resources Needed to Reach ICPD Goals *

At the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994, 180 nations endorsed a plan to advance human wellbeing and slow population growth by improving access to health care, education and employment opportunities, especially for women. The conference emphasized the importance of providing good quality reproductive health services, including family planning, to all who need them.

The ICPD estimated the cost of providing basic reproductive health care in developing countries at $17 billion in the year 2000 and nearly $22 billion in the year 2015 (in constant 1993 dollars). At the conference, all nations agreed that donor countries would provide one-third of these funds, and developing countries the remaining two-thirds. However, the international community lags far behind the ICPD funding goals. In 1996, developing countries contributed 70 percent of their year 2000 target; donor assistance represented at most 35 percent of the required contribution.

Increased financial support from donor countries remains essential to improve reproductive health and slow population growth. While developing countries must take the lead in formulating the programs called for by the ICPD, donor assistance can help stimulate and support these efforts, especially in the poorest countries. As the fifth anniversary of the Cairo conference approaches, this report takes stock of the funding donor countries provide to population programs and their progress in mobilizing the funds called for by the ICPD.