U.N., Guttmacher Report Says Doubled Funding For Family Planning, Pregnancy Care Could Drastically Cut Global Deaths

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Doubling the amount of money that nations invest in family planning and pregnancy care initiatives in developing countries could reduce the rate of maternal deaths by as much as 70% and cut newborn deaths by nearly 50%, according to a report released by the United Nations Population Fund and the Guttmacher Institute, Reuters reports. The report said that doubling current spending to $24.6 billion could achieve a number of "dramatic" results.

Nearly 400,000 premature maternal deaths and 1.6 million infant deaths could be prevented with the expanded funding, the report said. In addition, the rate of unintended pregnancies could be decreased by more than two-thirds, and the number of unsafe abortions and resulting complications could be lowered by 75%. Sharon Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, said, "Investing in a handful of basic health services, like family planning and routine delivery care, can save millions of women and babies."

According to Reuters, experts estimate that there are more than 500,000 maternal and 3.5 million infant deaths in developing countries each year and that many of the deaths are preventable. Research has shown that about 215 million women who want to avoid pregnancy do not have access to effective contraception and that about half of the 123 million women who have children have access to necessary prenatal, delivery and newborn care, Reuters reports.

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of UNFPA, wrote in the report that doubling the investment and directing the money toward improving birth control and health care would result in a "win-win situation." She added, "We know what must be done, we know what it will cost and we now know that the needed investment is modest in relation to the vast benefits that will follow" (Kelland, Reuters, 12/3).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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