Vulnerable women face economic, geographic obstacles – UNFPA
NAN-HG-5
Obstacles
By Mohammad Tijjani
Kaduna, July 11, 2017 (NAN) The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Tuesday said vulnerable women, especially the poor and refugees, daily face social, economic and geographic obstacles to voluntary Family Planning (FP) services and information.
The Acting Executive Director, UNFPA, Dr Natalia Kanem, said this in a statement issued by the Communication Officer, Northern Office Kaduna, Blessed Ekiko, to mark this year’s World Population Day (WPD).
According to the statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna, UNFPA has been helping to remove these obstacles to enable women exercise their reproductive rights since 1969 when it began operations.
“UNFPA contributed to a near doubling of modern contraceptive use worldwide, from 36 per cent in 1970 to 64 per cent in 2016.’’
However, he said despite the dramatic progress, enormous challenges remain.
“Some 214 million women in developing countries lack safe and effective family planning methods’’, noting that most of these women live in the 69 poorest countries.
“Fulfilling their unmet demand would save lives by averting 67 million unintended pregnancies and reducing by one third the estimated 303,000 annual maternal deaths.’’
He noted that better reproductive health care, including voluntary family planning, can bolster economies and contribute to sustainable development by empowering women to complete their education, join the paid labour force, be more productive in their jobs, earn higher incomes and increase savings and investments.
“In addition, for each additional dollar spent on contraceptive services above the current level, the cost of pregnancy-related care is reduced by $2.30.’’
He noted that the investments in FP help lead to prosperity for all.
“Family planning, therefore, is critical to achieving Sustainable Development Goal to end poverty.’’
Kanem said it is also key to achieving other goals, such as ending hunger as well as promoting good health and gender equality.
He added that UNFPA has set an ambitious, transformative goal to eliminate all unmet demands for FP by 2030.
“On this World Population Day, we call on all governments and stakeholders to help achieve this goal.
“UNFPA also calls on the 179 governments that endorsed the Programme of Action of the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development to fulfill their commitments to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health, including voluntary family planning,” he said.
Kanem said the measure would not only protect women health and rights, but also as a matter of investing in economic development, as well as humanity’s prosperity and progress.
Nan recalls that the then-Secretary-General of the United Nations established UNFPA as a trust fund 50 years ago. (NAN)
TJ/AAB/MST
Edited By Adeboye Ajayi/Muhammad Suleiman Tola