Procuring family planning methods for every woman in the world

Abstract

Every year the lack of access to contraceptives leads to 60 million unwanted pregnancies, 22 million unsafe abortions and 3 million infant deaths [1,2], the majority of which occur in developing countries. Women all around the globe are unable to choose when they fall pregnant, nor control the size of their family, because contraception is simply not accessible. Reducing fertility would not only prevent 358,000 [2] maternal deaths each year, but would also significantly contribute to eradicating extreme poverty, promoting the empowerment of women and ensuring environmental and economic sustainability. Initiatives like Every Woman, Every Child [3] and the 5th Millennium Development Goal [4] advocate that wider access to contraception in developing nations would provide women more opportunity to work, learn new skills and generate income.