For those commemorating World Population Day, “the goal,” according to Rep. Betty McCollum, “is simple – to provide couples in the world’s poorest countries the ability to space their children and give mothers the opportunity to stay healthy, productive and alive.”  Rep. McCollum is the sponsor of legislation, the Focus on Family Health Worldwide Act, which would significantly increase U.S. investments in family planning programs.

Rep. Carnahan, who traveled with PAI to Ethiopia in February, stressed the importance of family planning and empowering women to global security and development and urged greater bipartisan cooperation in support of these programs.  Rep. Carnahan is the sponsor of the Ensuring Access to Contraceptives Act, which would double U.S. funding for contraceptive donations overseas and exempt contraceptives from the destructive Global Gag Rule.

The other guest panelists, Margaret Neuse, Marilyn Peri, and Asih Puji Rahayu, underscored that record numbers of women and families still lack family planning options and highlighted the need for U.S. policymakers to reverse a decade of underinvestment in successful family planning programs.  Ms. Neuse stated that over the last forty years USAID has identified proven “keys to effective and sustainable planning programs”:  political commitment, key country-level group support, providing a range of FP methods through different service deliveries, adequate and sustained funding, and enhancing community understanding of the benefits of FP.  

To reduce the levels of unmet need, USAID partners with groups like CEDPA’s field partners in Indonesia and in Papua New Guinea that help enhance community understanding of the benefits of family planning.  “Our experience shows that improving family health is best achieved when you focus on the entire family,” remarked Asih Puji Rahayu. “By adding family planning programs, they could better provide for their existing children.”  In both countries, these organizations implement innovative outreach techniques to men and local religious leaders, while also scaling up their comprehensive family planning services in order to reduce high maternal death rates.

Despite an increase of over 300 million women of reproductive age in the developing world since 1995, U.S. government investments in family planning programs in this same time period have declined by $300 million (40%) when accounting for inflation.  Had it not been for family planning supporters in Congress, including Reps. McCollum and Carnahan, this decline in funding would have been far greater due to severe cuts recommended by the Bush Administration.  This decade of underinvestment in family planning has led, according to Margaret Neuse, funding shortfalls that contribute to the continued high numbers of married couples lacking contraception in many poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.  She pointed out, for example, that the U.S. only provides a total of $8 million for family planning programs in 15 countries in West Africa with high unmet need.

As Marilyn Peri stated, “we still have hope” that the last half-century of family planning successes will soon be replicated for the millions of families still lacking access to contraception.  Increased political and financial commitment from the U.S. will be essential to achieving this goal.  Margaret Neuse summed it up best: “adequate and consistent funding” from the U.S. is essential.

Photo 1: PAI’s Vice President for Government Relations, Tod Preston, introduces family planning champions Representatives Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Russ Carnahan (D-MO).

Photo 2: Margaret Neuse, former Director of USAID’s Office of Population & Reproductive Health, speaks at the briefing along with Asih Puji Rahayu (Foundation for Mother and Child Health in Jakarta, Indonesia) and Marilyn Peri (Community Based Health Care in Papua New Guinea).