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22 Apr 2013 |
Time to put sexual and reproductive health and rights firmly on international agenda
A new 10-point plan to put sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) - including access to family planning and women’s empowerment - at the heart of the international development agenda will be unveiled at the UN today by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).
Vision 2020 demands governments act to meet 10 goals including reducing maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion by 75%, making comprehensive sexuality education available to all and recognizing sexual rights as human rights.
“As the world works towards a new framework for development which will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) it is time to put SRHR at the very heart of what governments and the international community want to achieve,” said IPPF Director General Tewodros Melesse.
“Many sexual and reproductive health and rights were either missed out of the MDGs completely or added at a late stage and it doesn’t take very much reflection to realise what a mistake that was.
“Girls from poor households are three times more likely to give birth during adolescence than those from wealthier backgrounds – the knock on effects across access to education and employment are well documented.
“Not including SRHR in the MDGs was a bit like launching a flagship when you know it is holed beneath the waterline.”
As a result, Millennium Development Goals relating to reproductive health – including access to contraceptives and adolescent fertility rates – made the least progress and that has caused a great human toll.
“Today we have an unparalleled opportunity to secure a world of justice, choice and well-being for all,” added Melesse.
“At IPPF we fully intend to play our part. We’ve pledged to triple our services and save 54,000 lives by 2020.”
Despite the statistics, international support for family planning continues to wane. Between 1995 and 2007, financial investment in family planning programmes fell by 65% – from $980m to $340m.
By 2020, if an additional 120 million women and couples are given access to desired contraception options, 200,000 fewer women and girls will die in pregnancy and childbirth and 50 million abortions will be prevented.
“Reaching this goal depends on all of us working together to make Vision 2020 a reality.”
Notes for editors:
IPPF’s Vision 2020 includes:
Putting women at the centre of development
By eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls to achieve equality of opportunity for both women and men by the year 2020
- Reducing maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion by 75% by the year 2020
- Reducing by at least 50% the current unmet need for family planning by 2020
- Increasing access to sexual and reproductive health and rights in order to close the gap between the top and bottom wealth quintiles by 50% by the year 2020.
Giving the largest ever generation of young people a voice by
- Engaging young people in all policy decisions affecting their lives.
- Making comprehensive sexuality education available to all by 2020
Putting the rights back into health systems
- Establishing a new international development framework that includes SRHR as essential priorities
- Recognising sexual rights as human rights by 2020
- Providing comprehensive and integrated sexual and reproductive health and HIV services within the public, private and not-for-profit health systems by 2020
Finally, putting money behind it by
- Allocating sufficient resources to make all these targets achievable by 2020.
Founded in 1952, The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is both a service provider and an advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights. The organisation is a worldwide network of 152 Member Associations active in over 170 countries. Learn more at www.ippf.org .
Further information:
Vision 2020 http://ippf.org/vision2020
Vision 2020 Resource http://ippf.org/resource/Vision2020
