Family Planning, Family Health, Family Wealth
by Jay Gribble, vice president, International Programs
More than 1,000 people have gathered on the shore of Lake Victoria at the Speke Conference Center outside of Kampala, Uganda, to discuss family planning—what we have learned from research and how to expand the implementation of best practices.
The opening plenary included a range of speakers, including the First Lady of Uganda. Many speakers have focused on family planning as a strategy to reduce maternal mortality. For years, family planning has been couched in terms of its health benefits to women and children. The idea of “too young, too old, too close, and too many” is familiar to family planning advocates because through helping avoid unplanned pregnancies, family planning is able to contribute to lower maternal and child mortality. These are critical to addressing the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life among the poor.
Yet there are other benefits of family planning that should not be overlooked. Not only is family planning a health strategy, but it is also a poverty reduction strategy. Evidence demonstrates that when women use family planning and have smaller families, their families are better off. Research from Bangladesh shows that through the long-term commitment to family planning and maternal-child health, families are healthier; they have greater assets; they live in more valuable houses; their children are better educated and have lower mortality rates. These benefits reinforce the importance of family planning as both a health strategy as well as one to reduce poverty and improve economic development.
We should also remember that family planning is intrinsically linked to women’s empowerment. When women can decide the timing, spacing, and number of children that they want to have, they and their children are healthier, but they are also more empowered. Recognizing that there are important gender aspects of health and development, family planning helps women better care for themselves, for their children, their families. It allows them to work and earn an income, to continue their education, and to have a say about their own lives and futures.
The conference theme makes an important statement: family planning—family health—family wealth. Let’s not limit the discussion of family planning to only one area of benefit. Good health is important, but family planning also reduces poverty and promotes gender equity.
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December 8th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Family planning would be beneficial especially to third world countries. Planning the number of children would allow women to be able to do more things instead of raising children.