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Population, Family Planning and World Health Day - April 7, 2001
April 6 — As the international community marks World Health Day on April 7, partners in the Planet public awareness campaign are working to highlight the linkages between population, family planning and basic health.
In March, Planet partners Population Action International and CARE released "A World of Difference: Sexual and Reproductive Health & Risks", which reports on the progress 133 nations are making on ten key indicators of sexual and reproductive health. The report highlights the importance of promoting family planning and reproductive health as part of overall basic health around the world.
The issues of rapid population growth and basic health are inextricably linked. Family planning and reproductive health are an essential component of the basic health that eludes hundreds of millions of people. Conversely, efforts to address rapid population growth will not be successful without progress in other key areas of basic health, such as child survival, maternal health and reduction of preventable diseases.
World Health Day is a reminder of the significant challenges that exist in promoting universal global health. For example: - More than 350 couples lack information and access to the full range of family planning and reproductive health services they need to determine freely the number and spacing of their children.
- More than 11 million children under five die each year - most from easily preventable causes. Access to family planning is estimated to prevent at least 25% of these deaths. And well known strategies exist for addressing the five most common child killers: pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, measles, and malnutrition.
- More than 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and more than 2 billion are without adequate sanitation. These conditions are responsible for more than 5 million deaths annually.
Effective strategies for promoting reproductive and other aspects of basic health have been identified through international dialogue and consensus:- The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development established a roadmap for achieving universal access to family planning and promoting reproductive health.
- In 2000, the World Water Forum agreed on a global strategy for promoting safe drinking water and sanitation for all people.
- The international Safe Motherhood Initiative links multilateral and non-governmental organizations to reduce the more than 500,000 maternal deaths that occur each year.
- The World Summit for Children, held in 1990 and to be reviewed in September of this year, charts a course for enhancing child survival.
The partners in the Planet campaign are playing lead roles in realizing these hopeful visions for health. For example, through its comprehensive approach to development, CARE implements programs in health, education, water and sanitation, micro-enterprise and agriculture. Save the Children has launched Every Mother, Every Child, an impressive campaign to improve maternal and child health care, education and economic opportunity.
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