Rich countries pledged large financial resources to expand access to contraception to some 120 million women and girls in the developing world at the recent London Summit on Family Planning. Such promises seem audacious, especially when many G8 countries — having reneged on their aid commitments for years — are now pulling back even more under the domestic drive of austerity. The fresh commitments announced also come close on the heels of the perceived failure of the June 2012 U.N. conference on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro. The Rio declaration was criticised as having failed to restore lost momentum on gender equality in recent years owing to reduced resource allocation and diminishing political support. The positive fallout of the global impetus on family planning in the 1980s and 1990s is there for all to see. According to World Health Organisation estimates, the number of women who died annually due to pregnancy and childbirth related deaths declined by one-third between 1990 and 2008. Over this period, deaths among newborns declined from 3.5 to 3.2 million annually. The U.N. Population Fund estimates that doubling current investments to $24.6 billion would reduce the still unacceptably high rates of maternal and neonatal deaths, especially in the developing world.
Family planning lies at the heart of a host of politically contentious and divisive issues surrounding human development. The issue of women’s reproductive rights has acquired immense political potency given the backlash from the religious right in the United States and some orthodox Muslim and Christian countries where issues around family planning get mixed up with abortion. Then, it is also tainted by association with the much discredited ‘population control’ policies and the resort to coercive use of sterilisation at the expense of women’s agency and autonomy. In India and other Asian countries, attempts to enforce the so-called two-child norm to determine family size, against the cultural backdrop of a preference for boys, has already resulted in skewed sex ratios. The Indian government must actively move away from the recourse to incentives and disincentives to influence healthy fertility outcomes and instead promote measures to augment women’s overall well-being and gender equality. In addition to access to appropriate contraception services, a policy framework is needed that would empower women to control pregnancies, and space and limit child-births. The absence of such an environment is said to be the reason why the international community is farthest from reaching targeted reductions in rates of maternal mortality under the Millennium Development Goals.
Keywords: London Summit, Family Planning summit, contraception, Millennium Development Goals, G-8 countries, Rio declaration, U.N. Population Fund
Family planning is must for sustainable development.G-8 countries can
help by contributing in U.N.population fund.In India,a policy framework
is needed that would empower women to control pregnancies,and space and
limit child- births.
Family planning is must for sustainable development.G-8 countries can
help by contributing in U.N.population fund.In India,a policy framework
is needed that would empower women to control pregnancies,and space and
limit child- births.
why dont u break the paragraphs so as to to make the text more reader friendly.
Family planning needs to ensure larger mass education and availability of adequate health
facilities for mother and child in developing countries. Developed countries form the
backbone support for social welfare, health, education and poverty alleviation in the
developing societies.
Today the poor implementation of economic policies and reckless attitude of west has
created deep global economic crisis. Which has critically affected the developing countries in
two ways. Firstly a direct impact on their economies with rising inflation, shrinking
employment opportunities, decaying exports and ever rising import bills etc. Secondly due
the cuts from these developed states on the name of austerity.
The imperative need is to take proactive and sensible efforts from developed societies to
make a balance approach for the sustainable solution of the problem without hampering the
interests of the most needy ones.
Some communities including Muslims still have well over 2 kids per
family. The explosive growth in their population outweighs the gains
made by other communities in population control.
Apprehensive consideration by G-8 countries. India should also endeavor to take such steps. As the population of india is going to rise at much higher rate than any other country in the world. There-to the number of coercions are increasing day by day, It can also reduce these figures.
Family planning is must for sustainable development.G-8 countries can
help by contributing in U.N.population fund.In India,a policy framework
is needed that would empower women to control pregnancies,and space and
limit child- births.
Family planning can be a part of the short term development policies, but, it is better to significantly emphasis the gender equalisation and women empowerment policis for long term.
One question that lingers in my mind is why nothing is done in 5 top states-Bihar, UP, MP, WB and Orissa where 60% of population increase in India for the past not 10 or 20 but solid 40 years. No contribution from outside our country will help us. Did you know that from 1970's US donations to Africa equal to spent on trade benefits given to China. Now China became 2nd largest economy in the world and Africa stayed the same. So it is not the outside force alone that will fix any issue but the policies(political leaders) and commitment from public takes a bigger milesstone.
In India the skewed policy of the governnment to make one or two communities exempt from national policies in the name of politics is the prime reason for the failure than all the factors elaborated by you.
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