FIGO MARKS 40TH ANNIVERSARY

THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

MAY 13TH

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1968 International Conference on Human Rights in Tehran where it was recognized that "parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children." [1] This right was re-affirmed at international conferences several times throughout the following two decades, evolving by 1984 to state that "all couples and individuals have the basic right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education and means to do so…." [2]

It is notable that in many countries this right has been realized in terms of provision of reproductive health services and high contraceptive prevalence rates as well as reduced unmet need.

However, much work remains to be done. Funding for family planning declined significantly between 1995 and 2003 [3] and there is significant unmet need [married women] identified in an estimated 201 million women of whom one third are young women aged 15-24. [3]

At a time when maternal mortality rates globally remain unchanged over 20 years, implementing the right to access contraception is overdue. Contraception is clearly linked to the prevention of maternal mortality as well as reduced infant mortality. It has been estimated that contraception alone could prevent 29% of maternal mortality from all causes, prevent a million infant deaths from pregnancy spacing, as well as preventing 22 million induced abortions. [3] Postpartum and postabortal contraception are both significantly underutilized and are included in FIGO’s essential interventions for maternity care in low resource countries. USAID has also recently provided resource information for post-abortal care (PAC) that includes contraceptive counseling and services.

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly added a new target to MDG 5 on maternal health - to"Achieve by 2015 universal access to reproductive health". The indicators include: Contraceptive prevalence rate, adolescent birth rate and unmet need for family planning. This target is related to the programme of action from the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and FIGO was among many organizations that lobbied for and expected to see it as part of the MDGs from their creation in 2000.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) produces an annual Global Gender Gap report [4] in which it tracks indicators deemed important to the advancement of women. Advancement of women is recognized by the WEF as essential to the successful development of nations. In that report, indicators include total fertility rate, adolescent fertility rate, contraceptive prevalence rate, maternal mortality and infant mortality. Increasing access to voluntary contraception in countries with high fertility rates and falling infant mortality rates can benefit the development of these nations.

Contraception is likely to be a significant component of the action plans for the FIGO collaborative initiative on the prevention of unsafe abortion involving 53 member societies. We will learn about access to contraception in many of our countries through this initiative. If your country is not participating and you would like to share your achievements or concerns regarding access to modern methods of contraception, we would be interested to receive them. We encourage you to visit websites for UNFPA and IPPF , members of the Women’s Health Alliance co-chaired by FIGO to learn more.

References:

[1] Proclamation of Tehran, Final Act of the International Conference on human Rights, Tehran, Iran, Apr. 22-May 13, 1968, ¶ 16, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.32/41 (1968)

[2] Bringing Rights to Bear. The Center for Reproductive Rights and University of Toronto International Health Programme on Reproductive and Sexual Health Law. 2002. www.reproductiverights.org

[3] Cleland J, Bernstein S, Ezeh A, Faundes AA, Glasier A, Innis J. Family planning: the unfinished agenda. Lancet 2006; published online Nov 1. DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69480-4.

[4]  http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Gender%20Gap/index.htm