Devex: Family planning: It’s time to invest
Megan Elliott, vice president for strategy and development at Marie Stopes International

“…If the world is serious about ending poverty by 2030, access to contraception cannot be allowed to fall off the agenda, or left unfunded. As health issues move increasingly towards domestic financing, the priority developing economies give to contraception is a foot poised above the pedals of their own development. … We must get better at talking about this, basing our arguments on agreed indicators, on evidence, on verifiable data, and to speak more convincingly of the wider benefits of contraception — to governments, to major funding partners, to each other, and to those who are not yet convinced…” (11/12).

Huffington Post: Empowering Women and Girls Through Family Planning: A Promise Worth Keeping
Beth Schlachter, executive director of Family Planning 2020 (FP2020)

“…[T]he benefits of family planning extend beyond individuals to communities and countries. They are essential to sustainable development — with implications for access to education, protection from violence, and the ability to work and generate income. Simply put, FP2020’s goal [to bring family planning services to an additional 120 million women and girls by 2020] is a critical milestone on the journey to realizing the Sustainable Development Goal of universal access to family planning by 2030. The right of women and girls to autonomy over their bodies, and all that this right implies, is fundamental to the success of the entire global enterprise to eradicate poverty…” (11/12).