Donor Government Funding for Family Planning in 2018

This report provides an analysis of donor government funding to address family planning in low- and middle-income countries in 2018, the latest year available, as well as trends over time. It is part of an effort by the Kaiser Family Foundation to track such funding that began after the London Summit on Family Planning in 2012. Key findings include the following:

• DONOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR FAMILY PLANNING REACHED ITS HIGHEST LEVEL IN 2018. In 2018, donor government funding rose from $1.26 billion in 2017 to $1.50 billion (an increase of $237.3 million or 19%, as measured in current terms); funding increased even after accounting for inflation and currency fluctuations.¹ This was the second year of increases after two years of declines, and the highest level of funding since the 2012 Summit.
• MOST DONORS INCREASED BILATERAL FUNDING FOR FAMILY PLANNING IN 2018. Among the 10 donor governments profiled, seven provided increased bilateral funding (Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the U.K., and the U.S.) and three decreased (Australia, France, and Sweden); these trends were the same in currency of origin. The U.S. increase in 2018 was largely due to the timing of disbursements and does not reflect an actual increase in U.S. appropriations by Congress, which have been flat for several years.
• THE U.S. CONTINUES TO BE THE LARGEST DONOR TO FAMILY PLANNING. The U.S. was the largest bilateral donor to family planning in 2018, providing $630.6 million or 42% of total bilateral funding from governments. The U.K. (US$292.2 million, 19%) was the second largest donor, followed by the Netherlands (US$215.6 million, 14%), Sweden (US$107.0 million, 7%), and Canada (US$81.8 million, 5%).
• SINCE THE LONDON SUMMIT IN 2012, MOST DONOR GOVERNMENTS HAVE INCREASED FUNDING AND OVERALL FUNDING HAS RISEN BY MORE THAN US$400 MILLION. Among the 10 donor governments profiled, eight have increased bilateral funding since the London Summit in 2012 (Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the U.K., and the U.S.). The U.S. increase was the largest over the period (US$145.6 million), followed by the Netherlands (US$110.2 million), Sweden (US$65.8 million), Canada (US$40.3 million), and the U.K. (US$39.4 million).
• DONORS ALSO INCREASED FUNDING TO UNFPA. In addition to bilateral disbursements for family planning, donor governments profiled also provided US$373.9 million in core contributions to UNFPA in 2018, an increase of US$29.5 million compared to the 2017 level (US$344.4 million).² Sweden provided the largest core contribution to UNFPA in 2018 (US$83.0 million), followed by Norway (US$63.8 million), the Netherlands (US$37.5 million), and Denmark (US$37.1 million).For the second year in a row, the U.S. administration invoked the Kemp-Kasten amendment to withhold funding from UNFPA.