U.S. Funding Cuts to International Family Planning Programs Will Prove Dangerous

As Robert Walker, Executive Vice President for the Population Institute outlines in his article, Family Planning: 'The Best of Times, the Worst of Times', the United States and other countries are significantly cutting funding for international family planning programs. Such cuts will prove detrimental to global efforts aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality, thwarting the efforts of important global health initiatives such as the United Nations' Every Woman, Every Child campaign that promises to slash maternal and infant mortality rates and prevent 33,000 unwanted pregnancies. While United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, recently pledged an additional $10 billion to this initiative, without continued investment in international family planning programs, especially in poor countries like Guatemala where fertility rates remain high and access to modern contraceptive levels low, little progress will be made in saving the lives of women and children. We welcome your comments regarding this controversial issue!

You can access Robert Walker's article by clicking here.