In a major step toward expanding access to voluntary family planning for millions who need it, global health leaders, including country ministers and philanthropists, announced a bold vision and new commitments to end the funding shortfall for lifesaving contraceptive supplies.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is making a long-term commitment of up to $100 million to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership to support commodity procurement directly.
- The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) intends to double its commitment to the GFF to $50 million-as well as a further $50 million towards broader efforts to end the gap in commodity financing, including to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership.
- The Government of Germany announced a core contribution of US$50.5 million to UNFPA. In addition, Germany is also supporting the UNFPA Supplies Partnership and the Maternal and Newborn Health Thematic Fund. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands also declared their ongoing support for sustainable financing initiatives.
- Country leaders signaled their commitment to improving access to family planning by mobilizing more domestic resources for supplies.
"This new wave of funding will help UNFPA and our government partners protect and expand access to modern contraceptives and other critical sexual and reproductive health supplies, especially during humanitarian crises, when access can be difficult," said Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. "When women and young people have access to the contraceptive method of their choice, they can have power and agency over their bodies and futures."
However, despite these generous commitments, greater and more sustainable financing is needed to plug the global funding gap for contraceptives. Today, an estimated 257 million women want to avoid pregnancy but are not using safe and modern methods of contraception. Unintended pregnancies, which constitute half of all pregnancies, lead to reduced education and labor participation, as well as increased vulnerability to poverty.
Global financing is failing to meet the need. Last year alone, the world fell more than $100 million short of the financing needed for countries to meet women's demand for contraceptives. Without the acceleration of commitments and the right, sustainable financing approaches, this gap will cumulatively reach at least $1 billion by 2030.
"Contraceptives are critical building blocks of women's economic, political, and social power. And we've seen time and again that when a woman has power over her body and future everyone benefits, including her family, her community, and her country," said Melinda French Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We're making a long-term commitment to UNFPA Supplies because it's a proven way for governments, philanthropies, civil society and the private sector to work together and make sure that every woman can access the contraceptives that work for her and help her unleash her potential."
To address the funding shortfall, governments, together with donors, civil society, and multilateral institutions, are ushering in a paradigm shift from "funding" to "financing"-enabling countries to gradually increase their own domestic financing for reproductive health commodities, rather than relying on donor contributions. Today's announcements aim to build sustainable pathways to ensuring contraceptive access as more women seek to protect their health and their future.
"There is a huge unmet need in low-income countries for access to and a greater choice of contraceptives. Until that need is met, a woman's health and rights are compromised," said Mamta Murthi, Vice President for Human Development at the World Bank. "Today's announcement about financial support for countries who are working to improve the health and rights of women and girls is a huge step forward. By drawing on the powerful combination of GFF grant financing and World Bank/IDA concessional financing, countries will have more flexible resources to address their needs, in particular family planning."
"It is a moral outrage that hundreds of millions of women and girls, who want and need contraception, too often go without as a direct result of the funding gap for contraceptive supplies and service delivery," said Sir Chris Hohn, Chair and Founder, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). "The cost of filling this gap is small relative to the immense gains for countries, communities, and individuals - making contraception a best buy for development. Existing commitments, including CIFF's, are not enough: we call on all other funders and partners to work with us to end the cycle of funding shortfalls for life-saving contraceptive supplies once and for all."
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