UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin today called on the international community to “increase investment in maternal and newborn health” to prevent women from dying due to pregnancy-related causes in Africa.
“Family planning not only save lives but contributes to improved health, strengthens communities and stimulates economic growth,” he said. Government and development partners should make the London Family Planning summit commitment to double the proportion of resources targeting family planning a reality.
Family planning is one of the most cost-effective interventions for reducing maternal mortality as there is evidence to show that increased contraceptive use in developing countries has cut the number of maternal deaths by 40 per cent over the past 20 years, he said.
Dr. Osotimehim assured the international community of UNFPA’s commitment to continue to support maternal health programmes in Africa towards ensuring that no woman dies while giving life.
Contributing to the symposium, the President of Malawi, Mrs. Joyce Banda, said family planning reduces health risks of women and sexually-active girls and gives them more control over their reproductive lives.
“With better health and greater control over their lives, women can take advantage of education, employment and civic opportunities,” she said. “Families with fewer children are often able to send those children to better schools, so girls get a chance to attain higher education and as an outcome, the age at first marriage is often later and their years of fertility reduced.”
The President of the Republic of Liberia, Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, stated that family planning contributes to alleviating poverty and accelerating socio-economic development.
“At national level, rapid population growth resulting from high levels of unmet need for family planning often outstrips economic growth and undermines a country’s ability to offer adequate educational, health, and other social services to its people,” she said.
Over 200 national and foreign dignitaries attended the symposium, including the Director General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and diplomats.
UNFPA works to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Adebayo Fayoyin, Regional Communications Adviser, UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, East and Southern Africa Regional Office
Tel: +27 11 6035308; +27 79 517032011
Email: fayoyin@unfpa.org
Ms. Lindsay Barnes, Regional Communications Analyst, UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, East and Southern Africa Regional Office
Tel: +27 11 6035329
Email: barnes@unfpa.org
