Family Planning and Reproductive Health

Description

Family Planning and Reproductive Health (FP/ RH) programming improves the health of mothers and their babies, reduces unintended pregnancies, prevents unsafe abortions, lowers rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and promotes gender equality and the rights of women and girls.

Use of Funds

Funds support programming that provides voluntary modern contraception services and supplies and prevents practices that harm women and girls, including female genital cutting and gender-based violence.

Justification

• In F.Y. 2021, U.S. funding:
  • Provided and distributed contraceptive services and supplies to 27.2 million women and couples.
  • Averted 12 million unintended pregnancies.
  • Prevented 19,000 maternal deaths.
  • Averted 4 million unsafe abortions.
• Due to COVID-19, over the past year, 12 million women in 115 countries lost access to family planning services, leading to 1.4 million unintended pregnancies.
• Annually, 111 million unintended pregnancies occur in LMICs, accounting for 49% of all pregnancies in those countries.
• In LMICs, 35 million women have abortions in unsafe conditions, and 299,000 die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. 133 million women do not receive the treatment they need for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis.
• An estimated 218 million women in developing regions who want to avoid pregnancy for at least two years have an unmet need for modern contraceptives, possibly hindering their potential to pursue educational, economic, and civic opportunities.
• International FP/RH programs are cost-effective—every $1.00 invested in contraception saves $3.00 in pregnancy-related care.