FP2030 Annual measurement report links family planning and gender equality

By Guardian Reporter , The Guardian

Published at 05:50 PM Apr 29 2024

Photo: File

FP2030 Executive Director, Dr. Samukeliso Dube.

Family Planning 2030 today launched its 2023 measurement report, Meeting the Moment: Family Planning and Gender Equality. The 2023 report shows significant achievements in family planning across the globe, even in the face of stagnant funding.

Speaking during the launch of the 2023 annual measurement report in Washington DC, FP2030 Executive Director, Dr. Samukeliso Dube, said: "In this report, you will hear more success stories: more people than ever before are using voluntary, rights-based contraception. You will also learn more about the opportunities ahead.”

The links between family planning and gender equality are the central theme of this year’s measurement report. The data set covers 85 countries, including for the first time Botswana and Namibia, two middle-income countries that have now made commitments to FP2030, and Jordan, which has moved into the lower-middle income category.

The report showed that in the 85 countries reviewed there are over 1 billion women of reproductive age; an estimated 377 million of those women are using a modern method of contraception, 92 million more than were using a method in 2012.

Soure - internet, mother and child having a moment.

"This year’s report comes at a critical time in our movement. We are at the intersection of several crises: globally, 800 women are dying every day in childbirth. 218 million women in the global south countries have an unmet need for modern contraception - meaning they want to avoid a pregnancy but are not using a modern method," added Dr. Dube.

The movement for rights-based family planning is an integral part of the global push for gender equality. Gender is at the root of every person’s ability to make and carry out decisions about sex, contraception, and sexual and reproductive health.

As the global push for gender equality gains strength, FP2030 affirms the central importance of rights-based, gender-transformative family planning.

The report is the first to fully reflect the impact of FP2030’s move to decentralize from one secretariat in Washington DC, to five regional hubs in Nairobi, Kenya; Abuja, Nigeria; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Panama City, Panama; to ensure that the partnership is driven by regional priorities.

The report contains demographic updates from each region, as well as a special focus on postpartum family planning, a topic chosen by the Regional Hubs, as a high impact practice with demonstrated ability to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes and increase uptake of contraception.