The House is trying to slash funding for international family planning
Just in time for World Population Day, an annual observance intended to “focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues,” the U.S. House of Representatives voted up a foreign assistance appropriations package that guts U.S. investment in voluntary family planning and reproductive health around the world.
This July 11, the United Nations is expected to release its latest round of global population projections. While some regions are grappling with aging, shrinking populations, the dominant global trend is growth. The world’s population grew by roughly 75 million people in 2023, and overall growth is projected to continue for decades.
Continued growth is partly due to unintended pregnancy, which accounts for roughly half of pregnancies worldwide and is radically unequally distributed, concentrated in many places that are least equipped to handle it. The world could benefit most from greater investment in voluntary family planning and reproductive health programs.
That’s why the recent House vote is so disappointing. It slashes and restricts precisely those programs that enable people in the hardest-hit places to avoid unintended pregnancy and improve their overall health and well-being.
For example, in Niger, located in Africa’s conflict-riven Sahel region, 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Land degradation and limited access to arable land and water affect food security, with 47 percent of children under the age of five malnourished. Yet the population is growing fast at about 3.7 percent annually. If left unchanged, this would double Niger’s population in 19 years, affecting not only economic and food security but also education, health care, climate resilience and governance.
Often, a closer look at population growth hotspots shines a light on inequities. They show us where women and girls face limitations on their rights and opportunities, especially regarding their education and their reproductive choices and care.
This deep interconnection between gender equality issues and population trends was recognized and enshrined in policy 30 years ago at the International Conference on Population and Development. The conference centered a rights-based approach to population issues. It affirmed that people everywhere have the right to determine the number, timing and spacing of childbearing, and deserve access to the information and services needed to exercise that right.
The U.S. government joined 178 other nations in adopting the conferences Program of Action, including agreeing on a framework to finance those services.
Fast forward 30 years, and the conference's work is more relevant than ever. Yet the U.S. is backpedaling on its financial commitment. It is a self-defeating disinvestment, because family planning is a “best buy” for health and development globally. Every dollar invested in meeting unmet demand for contraceptives can yield up to $120 in accrued annual benefits, according to Family Planning 2020 (including $30-$50 “from reduced infant and maternal mortality” and $60-$100 “in long-term benefits from economic growth”).
The U.S. was formerly a global leader in funding international family planning. But since 2010, U.S. funding has stagnated at around $600 million a year, with no adjustment for inflation, even as the number of people of reproductive age swelled to a record high. This was little more than one-third of the “fair share” annual investment of $1.7 billion that advocates say the U.S. should make, and unfortunately, it has become a kind of customary floor. Last week’s vote signaled the collapse of even that insufficient floor, with the House slashing another 23 percent in funding, to just $461 million.
Today, the largest generation of young people in the planet’s history is entering its reproductive years. The need is greater than ever before. This is exactly the wrong time to cut international family planning and reproductive health funding.
Persistent overall population growth, and radical disparity in how it is distributed, tells us we still have a lot of work to do to implement the vision of the International Conference on Population and Development. We know how to achieve it; it takes sufficient commitment and “fair share” investment. The rights and lives of many millions hang in the balance.
Kathleen Mogelgaard is the president and CEO of the Population Institute.
Date: |
-
Financial Times - Business
Ackman slashes fundraising target for US fund’s IPO to $2bn
Figure is fraction of the $25bn initially targeted by billionaire hedge fund manager12 hr ago -
ABC News - Health
Families seek answers after inmates' bodies returned without internal organs
Six families have filed lawsuits saying that men who died while incarcerated in Alabama prisons were missing organs when returned to their families5 hr ago -
NBC News - Top stories
Ilona Maher's family reacts to Alex Sedrick's incredible try
Maher's family have been some of the most high-profile fans of the women's rugby team at the 2024 Paris Games. A camera caught their reaction to the incredible try that secured the bronze for the Americans.9 hr ago -
BBC News - Top stories
Rayner sets new housing targets in planning overhaul
The government is changing how targets are set in England, in a bid to boost housebuilding.12 hr ago -
The Guardian - World
Greens say Labour should focus more on building council homes and that new housing plan is flawed – UK politics live
Rayner says housing target system will raise number of homes planned to 370,000 and confirmed targets will be mandatory. Balls , who, of course, is a former Labour cabinet minister, and a former shadow chancellor, questions whether Reeves is ...13 hr ago - United Kingdom -
The Hill - Politics
Watch live: White House holds briefing day after Biden unveils Supreme Court reform plan
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will brief reporters Tuesday afternoon, as President Biden's call for Supreme Court reform garners headlines but faces long odds of approval in the present Congress. Biden's move to increase ...12 hr ago - Joe Biden -
The Wall Street Journal - World
Biden called for a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court's recent decision awarding former presidents immunity for crimes they commit while in office, and endorsed proposals for a mandatory ethics code and 18-year term limit for justices.
Biden called for a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s recent decision awarding former presidents immunity for crimes they commit while in office, and endorsed proposals for a mandatory ethics code and 18-year term limit for ...38 min ago - Joe Biden -
BBC News - Top stories
Lorry thefts: Stolen cargo, stress and slashed curtains
The Road Haulage Association is calling for a national truck parking security standard.3 hr ago -
The Hill - Politics
DHS derails funding push
Welcome to The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter {beacon} Business & Economy Business & Economy The Big Story Funding battle déjà vu? Senate negotiators have punted consideration of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, and the ...7 hr ago -
Financial Times - Business
St James’s Place shares jump by fifth as it sets out cost-cutting plans
Wealth manager beats expectations on profits and inflows and sets new growth targets21 hr ago
More from The Hill
-
The Hill - Politics
Kari Lake wins Arizona Senate primary, teeing up showdown with Gallego
Republican Kari Lake easily glided to victory in the Arizona Senate GOP primary, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ, teeing up a marquee showdown between her and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego. Lake was largely seen as the presumptive ...1 hr ago -
The Hill - Politics
Gallego wins Democratic Senate primary in Arizona
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has won the Democratic primary in the Arizona Senate race, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ. Gallego ran uncontested in the Democratic contest to replace retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), and he ...1 hr ago -
The Hill - Politics
Durbin says Harris' shift on some policies won't change how people vote
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) downplayed concerns that changes in Vice President Harris’s positions could influence voters in November. Harris’s policy platform has changed somewhat since her 2020 presidential campaign, including now backing fracking, ...1 hr ago -
The Hill - Politics
Kelly says Democrats can win his Senate seat if he becomes vice president
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said he’s confident that Democrats can keep his Senate seat in a special election if he is elected vice president, as speculation rises over who Vice President Harris will choose as her running mate. Kelly told CNN’s Manu ...1 hr ago -
The Hill - Politics
Trump crypto event remarks delayed due to security concern
Former President Trump's remarks to the annual Bitcoin2024 Conference were delayed last Saturday after two individuals raised security concerns and were removed from the premises ahead of the speech, the U.S. Secret Service told The Hill. "Two ...2 hr ago - Donald Trump