Family Planning Takes Priority in London

July 11, World Population Day, will be a memorable day in the world of maternal health and family planning advocacy. The U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are conducting the London Summit on Family Planning, to be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, Central London. This summit will allow leaders, thinkers, and advocates to come together and create an extensive initiative aimed at delivering family planning resources to developing countries worldwide.

The need for voluntary family planning is critical. Contraceptives are one of the best investments a country can make in its future. Even though it has been proven that family planning saves lives, improves health, stimulates economic growth, and strengthens communities, more than 200 million women and girls living in developing countries who do not want to get pregnant, still lack information, contraceptives, and other resources to empower their decisions.

This summit has three main objectives:

1. Revitalize global commitments to family planning and access to contraceptives as a cost-effective and transformational development priority
2. Improve the access and distribution of contraceptive supplies
3. Remove and reduce barriers to family planning

In accordance with these objectives, the goal of the summit is to enable 120 million more women and girls to use contraceptives by 2020, and to provide coverage for the 260 women in developing countries who are currently using contraceptives. This target goal could save the lives of 200,000 pregnant women, and nearly 3 million infants from dying within their first year of life.

The partners of the summit are holding a series of panel discussions, focusing on key impact areas for increasing access to contraceptives worldwide. There will be two sessions, the first comprised of 4 parallel events, and the second will conduct three parallel events. The participants in this summit are extensive, with over 20 governments of developing countries including Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, prominent donors such as the Nike Foundation and the European Commission, numerous International agencies such as UNICEF, along with contributors from the private sector and civil society organizations. To see the full list of participants, click here.

As women’s health issues are pushed to the forefront of international agendas, the world is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of these issues. Every Mother Counts looks forward to watching the summit unfold, and finding ways to contribute to this groundbreaking initiative.