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July 11, 2017 - in 2017, the theme of World Population Day, which is celebrated annually, is "Family planning - the rights of everyone." On this day, the United Nations Population Fund - UNFPA draws special attention to the issue of family planning. Family planning allows people to attain their desired number of children, determine the spacing of pregnancies, prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as maternal and child deaths. It is achieved through the use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of infertility.

Women who choose family planning are healthier and face a lower risk of maternal death. Moreover, children born in families who are engaged in pregnancy planning are usually healthier and face a lower risk of death in the first five years of life.

"It is a well-known fact and was proved by many studies that family planning and access to contraceptives are ones of the effective tools for reducing maternal mortality by 30 percent," said UNFPA Executive Representative Meder Omurzakov.

Around the world, some 214 million women,  who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and effective family planning methods, for reasons ranging from lack of access to information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities.  Most of these women with an unmet demand for contraceptives live in 69 of the poorest countries on earth. Fulfilling their unsatisfied demand would save lives by preventing 67 million unanticipated pregnancies worldwide and reducing maternal mortality by one-third of the estimated 303,000 maternal deaths that will occur in 2017.

Access to safe, voluntary family planning is a human right. Family planning is central to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. Extreme poverty can be eradicated. However, it requires an understanding of the direct relationship between family planning, gender equality, and economic growth.

Global statistics:

1.        Nowadays, about 214 million women all over the world experience unmet demand for modern family planning.

2.        In 2015, contraceptives provided by UNFPA affected the prevention of 12.3 million unplanned pregnancies, 4.4 million abortions, 220,000 child deaths, and 34,000 maternal deaths.

3.       Universal access to voluntary family planning can reduce maternal mortality by a third and the death rate of children by 20 percent.

4.        The satisfaction of the demand for modern contraceptives for all 877 million women, who want it in the developing world, on average, will cost $ 8.39 per user of contraceptives for the year of supply and services.