Why World Population Day is really about women

There are about 214 million women around the world who want to avoid pregnancy but don’t have access to contraception, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Addressing this unmet need is part of the inspiration for the theme of this year’s World Population Day on Tuesday: “family planning.”

A woman holding her daughter leaves the International Rescue Committee health clinic in in …more
Sefan Heunis, AFP/Getty Images
The world has 7.6 billion people in it, and by 2023 the United Nations predicts there will be more than 8 billion people who call the planet home. In Africa alone, the continent with the highest fertility rate and lowest use of modern contraceptives, 26 countries will double their population by 2050, according to the U.N.
“Fundamentally if you’re looking at World Population Day, it is at heart a women’s rights issue,” said Roger-Mark DeSouza director of population, environmental security and resilience at the non-partisan policy Wilson Center, based in Washington, D.C.
World Population Day is meant to draw attention to the challenges we face with a human population that is constantly growing. Rapid population growth in the poorest countries leads to rapid consumption of natural resources, which makes it difficult for countries to feed themselves and recover from the effects of climate change, such as increased flooding, DeSouza said.

The population of the least developed countries grows about 2.4% per year, with a birthrate of 4.3 children per woman. DeSouza said this rate of growth will be unsustainable if the level of consumption in developing countries reaches that of the industrialized world.

An Indian woman sits with children in Amritsar on July 10, 2017.
Raminder Pal Singh, epa
Many African countries are addressing this issue by investing money in women’s empowerment, including the unmet need for contraceptives and education, he said. Improving women’s rights can be a powerful tool to tackle unsustainable population growth:
In both the developing and industrialized world, women with more education have fewer children, according to the World Bank.
Access to safe family planning options not only allows women to become more economically productive but would also result in a 75% decline in unintended pregnancies, unplanned births and induced abortions in developing regions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive justice and sexual health research institution.
Access to contraception and information about family planning are vital components of gender equality. According to the UNFPA, “When women and couples are empowered to plan whether and when to have children, women are better enabled to complete their education; women’s autonomy within their households is increased; and their earning power is improved.”
The Importance Of Family Planning
Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) — a U.N.-affiliated organization that matches donor countries like the U.S. with partner countries in the developing world on family planning goals — aims to give 120 million women and girls access to modern contraceptives by 2020, according to executive director Beth Schlachter.

FP2020, which will mark World Population Day with a landmark summit in London, has helped more than 30 million women and girls in the world’s 69 poorest countries. However, that’s nearly 20 million fewer than they’d hoped for by this point, the group says. The group says it has achieved a record 30% rate of contraceptive use in East and Southern Africa.
Schlachter says the best way to navigate the challenges of rapid population growth in low-income countries is by giving women and girls the autonomy and the tools to decide when and how many children they want to have.
“Family planning is the key that unlocks that process of families and individuals managing those choice for themselves,” Schlachter said.
Family Planning In Jeopardy
The U.S. allocates more than $600 million in aid for family planning, making it the largest donor to family planning and reproductive health. President Trump caused concern earlier this year when he reinstated the Mexico City policy, known as the global gag rule, which prevents money from going to international organizations that are connected to abortion services.

“To pull back on that (aid) is putting a lot of uncertainty into the system,” Schlachter said.
Trump’s proposed budget also slashes international family planning funds and completely defunds the UNFPA.
Schlachter said her organization is preparing to find ways to fill this gap but hopes Congress will be able to negotiate some funding for USAID, the government agency that distributes civilian foreign aid.
“USAID and the role they play are unparalleled by any donor,” Schlachter said. “Other donors are stepping up, but the amount of money provided by the U.S. has been sustaining.”

Ustoday