Financial crisis threatens family planning
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
The spread of the global financial crisis threatens harm another of the main objectives of the United Nations in health and development: the family planning. UN officials expressed fear that the proposed funds for reproductive health services do not reach their goal. According to the latest figures, the international donations to programs for continued population growth in recent years, from U.S. $ 7.6 billion in 2006 to $ 8.1 billion in 2007. Funding ara designed in 2008 and 2009 was estimated at about $ 11.1 billion and $ 11.2 billion, respectively.
"But due to the current global financial crisis, it is unclear whether donors honrarão its future commitments and continue increasing their levels of funding as in recent years", says a new communiqué issued at the meeting this week of the UN Commission on Population and Development. it is possible that the final figures for 2008 and 2009 "show low levels of funding for population assistance in," warns the study. The threat comes as the UN warning that its Millennium Development Goals, especially the reduction by half the number of poor and hungry by 2015, may be affected by global economic crisis.
One of the eight Goals provides universal access to reproductive health services, along with a reduction by three quarters the maternal mortality. The goals of funding set by the International Conference on Population and Development held in Egypt for about 15 years, do not meet the current needs, which grew dramatically in the last decade. The crisis of AIDS is much worse than expected, while the maternal and child mortality are still unacceptably high in many parts of the world. Moreover, says the study, the value of the dollar is now much lower than at the time was the conference in 1993.
The meeting also set the goal of $ 20.5 billion for 2010, but this amount is now considered "simply insufficient to cover the current needs of developing countries in the area of family planning, reproductive health, sexually transmitted diseases, basic research, information and analysis of policies on population and development. " It asked the Commission on Population and Development, which closes its current session today, which revise and update the numbers to reflect the actual increases in costs of health care in the world.
The Fund's executive director, United Nations Population (UNFPA), Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, told IPS that the gap in funding for reproductive health, especially in family planning as part of any assistance on issues of population, fell from 55% in 1995, when they totaled U.S. $ 723 million, to 5% in 2007, only $ 338 million.
"If not reversed, the low funding for family planning threat derail our collective efforts to achieve the Goals," said Obaid. "Not to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger and inequality, nor will the other Millennium Development Goals, unless it is given more attention to issues of population and more resources and are intended to power of women and reproductive health, including attention maternal health and family planning, "he added.
Currently, there are approximately 200 million women in the developing world who need effective methods, especially in Africa. "Now it is time to renew the energies of the voluntary family planning. There is no other investment in development costs so little and that benefits so great and far-reaching, "said Obaid. However, the president of North American organization for UNFPA, Aniki Rahman said that the latest actions of President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress "marked a strong commitment to improving the health and dignity of women in the world. I hope that President Obama's support for UNFPA has a positive impact on the commitment of governments of the world to women's health, "said the IPS.
Last month, the State Department announced that the U.S. contributed $ 50 million to UNFPA, or deliver the funds frozen by the government for eight years of George W. Bush. The vice director of the Program on Women and Population, the UN Foundation, Katherine C. Hall, told the IPS that the targets set by the conference of 1993 will be reviewed in light of the realities of 2009. "Nobody could have foreseen the speed with which HIV / AIDS infected many people, particularly women and youth, nor the cost of treating patients," he added.
(Envolverde / IPS)
Source: Market Ethics
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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