Devex: Opinion: Half a century on, let’s make family planning a reality for all
Natalia Kanem, UNFPA executive director

“…It has been 50 years since world leaders proclaimed family planning a basic human right. … [H]owever, millions of women around the world are still denied the means and information to exercise this right. … As a result, more than 200 million women around the world who want to avoid pregnancy lack modern contraceptives, and more than 800 women die daily from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. This must stop. … Family planning saves lives. … The United Nations Population Fund is committed to ending the unmet need for family planning by 2030 and is already the world’s largest public provider of contraceptives for developing countries. … Half a century later, we must redouble our efforts to defend this right and turn it into a reality for every woman and adolescent girl, everywhere. All women deserve the basic freedom to decide whether, when, and how often to bear children. It is their right” (5/17).