The third International Conference on Family
Planning (ICFP 2013) ended yesterday with a Call to Action by civil society
leaders for governments to prioritize family planning in the new global
development framework that replaces the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
after 2015. The Call to Action was issued as five additional African and Asian
governments and the United Kingdom announced commitments to expand
contraceptive access and options.
The Addis Call to Action on the Post-2015
Development Framework voices the perspective of civil society that the ability
to plan one’s family and future is a fundamental right and a sound investment.
Ensuring that women and girls are able to plan whether and when to have
children means mothers and babies are more likely to survive. Additionally,
when countries invest in family planning alongside health, education and gender
equity, they can realize a “Demographic Dividend” for economic growth and
prosperity.
“We still
have leaders on the African continent who are not yet hooked on the message of
family planning. The promise of the Demographic Dividend is an entry point to
bring those leaders on board,” said Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, Regional Director of
the Africa Regional Office of Partners in Population and Development, who
presented the Call to Action at the closing session of ICFP 2013.
“No nation in
history has transitioned from a developing country to middle-income status
without family planning.
“Family
planning is a development imperative because it unlocks the potential of young
women,” said Anuradha Gupta, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the
National Rural Health Mission in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of
India. “Family planning can create a profound impact when it becomes a central
part of integrated maternal and child health care.”
The Call to Action will be presented to UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to underscore the essential role that global
development goals such as the MDGs and the new post-2015 framework play in catalyzing
action and holding countries accountable.
ICFP 2013, the largest global gathering on family
planning, brought together more than 3,000 advocates, researchers, health
professionals and political leaders from over 100 countries. Presentations at
the conference, which was organized around the theme “Full Access, Full Choice”
and opened 12 November, focused on progress in expanding contraceptive
information and services since the historic July 2012 London Summit on Family
Planning, which re-established family planning as a top global health priority.
At ICFP 2013, five additional countries made
significant commitments to expand family planning programs:
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