Washington D.C. Jan. 26 -Legal induced abortions in the United States are "markedly safer" than childbirth, according to a new comparative study published in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The comparative analysis found that the risk of death associated with childbirth is about 14 times higher than for legal induced abortions - 0.6 deaths per 100,000 abortions, compared to 8.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. Pregnancy-related complications and illness are also much more common for childbirth than for abortion, it said.

"Since the early 1970s, the public health evidence has been clear and incontrovertible: induced abortion is safer than childbirth," noted the study that is co-authored by Dr. Elizabeth G. Raymond of the Gynuity Health Projects in New York and Dr. David A. Grimes of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Information from the Guttmacher Institute indicates that roughly half of the states have laws that now require that women seeking abortions must be given detailed, specific written or verbal information about potential risks from the procedure.

For example, a mandatory 23-page pamphlet given to pregnant women seeking abortions in Texas, titled "A Woman's Right to Know," lists 11 or 12 potential complications from abortion procedures and only six possible complications from vaginal delivery and eight for cesarean sections. Some of the statistics are often expressed in terms that are difficult to understand when given as fractions rather than comparisons of deaths per 100,000 events, the study continued.

"Laws that compel exposure of women to such biased material thwart informed choice and contravene the ethical principle of autonomy," the piece concluded. "Moreover, they put clinicians in the untenable position of having to be complicit in misleading their patients."

The authors examined existing reports and research data on maternal deaths and illnesses related to legal induced abortions and childbirth in the United States from 1998 to 2005. They found that the relative safety of abortion has increased greatly since it was legalized in 1973, but even in the 1970s it was about seven times safer than childbirth.

They suggested several reasons for the safety difference. Pregnancies ending in abortion are shorter than those ending in childbirth, so there is less time for complications to develop. Many complications like hypertension and abnormal placentas show up only late in pregnancy, and early abortion avoids those hazards. A third of births occur by cesarean delivery, which has substantial risk of complications and death.

In fact, the authors said, this study may actually under-state the dangers of pregnancy and over-estimate the dangers of abortion in part because women who undergo abortion appear to be at higher risk than women who opt for delivery.

The authors concluded, "The data are clear -- abortion is safer than childbirth. Every woman deserves factual medical information whenever she is facing a decision about a pregnancy."

For interviews with the co-authors, contact Andrea Camp at: 202-326-8700 or cell: 443-851-1462; andreacamp@comcast.net.

WASHINGTON DC, Nov. 3 � A group of 122 House Democrats fought back today against what they called �a systematic and baseless campaign of misinformation� from House Republicans about UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

In an open letter to President Obama, the group urged him to reaffirm U.S. support for the agency and for its programs supporting comprehensive reproductive health care in more than 150 countries worldwide. It gave a point-by-point rebuttal of charges against UNFPA that House Republicans made in an Oct. 7 letter to Obama, which the Democrats said �misrepresented and distorted a number of facts� about UNFPA.

�It is time for the allegations and falsehoods to come to an end,� the letter said. �We want to ensure the public record accurately reflects the work of UNFPA.�

The U.S. contribution in FY 2010 to UNFPA was $40 million, which the House Republican majority is seeking to cut to zero.  The Democrats said that could lead to greater maternal deaths, unplanned pregnancies and HIV/AIDS infections.

Valerie DeFillipo, president of Americans for UNFPA, thanked the legislators for their letter, saying it �reflects the values that American voters and women around the world count on them to support and address.� 

The Crowley-led congressional letter was released on the same day Nicholas Kristof wrote in The New York Times on the life-saving importance of birth control in �The Birth Control Solution.� He addresses the bi-partisan roots of family planning, and poignantly draws attention to real examples, solutions and the impact of voluntary family planning, as well as the critical role of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

In Kristof�s article he asserts, ï¿½Contraception already prevents 112 million abortions a year, by U.N. estimates. The United Nations Population Fund is a b�te noire for conservatives, but its promotion of contraception means that it may have reduced abortions more than any organization in the world.�

For more information contact:
Angeline Martyn, Director of Communications & Marketing, Americans for UNFPA
+1 646-649-9127, amartyn@americansforunfpa.org

New York, Oct. 27 - World population will reach 7 billion people next week on October 31. This is a major milestone that offers people opportunities for action to create a better future, as well as many challenges, and the Internet has risen to the occasion.

Here are some interesting websites that explore different aspects of the situation.

www.7billionactions.com  - In a world of seven billion and counting, we must all count on each other to help make the world a better place. Here viewers can share their own story of their work or someone else's to make a difference in communities around the world by submitting a film, remixing the 7 Billion Actions song, and joining the conversation on Twitter at #7Billion. Included is http://7billionactions.tumblr.com/ - a 7 Billion Actions Countdown site until Oct. 31, the Day of 7 Billion, with each day dedicated to a different topic. People can watch the videos and pick one to join the debate: what millions of young people in China and India really think; population growth in paradise; the identity of the newborn 7 billionth person; how Sudan is changing today; the environmental impact of population growth; the role of statistics in population studies; and many more.

http://www.populationaction.org/Articles/Whats_Your_Number/Summary.php - What's YOUR number as earth's population hits 7 billion? People can see the Population Action International fast moving website clicker turning toward seven billion. People add their birthdate to see where they fit into the total to put themselves on the map! Then see an interactive map on the way population growth relates to climate change.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/7-billion - National Geographic magazine is running a special yearlong online series on population issues, with videos and its usual astonishing photos. Can we feed 7 billion of us? Is there enough for everyone? What influences women to have fewer children? Are there too many people? Are we in the "Age of Man"? How will we cope with changing climate? People can join the discussion on these issues and more.

http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2011/world-population-data-sheet/video-7-billion.aspx - The Population Reference Bureau has a three-minute video, 7 Billion and Counting, along with data sheets, interactive maps and discussions.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/india-leads-push-to-7-billion/ - The Washington Post has a series of articles with graphs and charts about statistics, consumption trends and more in a world of 7 billion.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/world/04population.html - The New York Times focused on population predictions for the century's end in this piece of its ongoing series on the world of 7 billion. In an earlier piece it looked at the aging of the global population. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/world/30population.html

For More Information Contact:
Kathy Bonk, +1 202-326-6767, kbonk@ccmc.org
Andrea Sybinsky, +1 202-326-8711, asybinsky@ccmc.org

New York, Oct. 25 – As Earth’s population reaches 7 billion this week, urgent policy decisions will determine whether we can all live together on a healthy planet in the future, according to a report to be released tomorrow by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

The report, The State of World Population 2011: People and possibilities in a world of 7 billion, will explain the trends behind the numbers and make the case for greater investment to meet the needs of everyone, especially girls and women, for education and family planning. With a record number of young people just entering their prime reproductive years, the individual decisions they make about bearing children will determine whether human population rises to 10 billion or 16 billion by the end of the century.

Critical trends in population growth include longer lifespans (68 years, compared to 48 in 1950); ageing (people over 80 are the fastest-growing age group); urbanization (more than half the world’s people now live in cities, but two out of three will by 2050); and climate change that is affecting rainfall, crop yields, wildlife habitat and human migration patterns.

The averages hide great disparities. Of the 78 million people being added to the global population every year, more than 97 out of every 100 new world citizens are in developing countries that are least able to meet their people’s needs. Meanwhile, most industrialized countries are losing population size, but each of their people consumes an outsize share of earth’s resources compared to those in low-income nations. And wide disparities also exist within as well as among nations.

The report is to be released simultaneously in some 130 cities and available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.  

For More Information Contact:
Omar Gharzeddine, +1 212 297 5028, gharzeddine@unfpa.org

The milestone of 7 billion – projected to be reached on October 31, 2011 – will be marked by achievements, setbacks and paradoxes according to a soon-to-be-released UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund report, The State of World Population 2011. Journalists may view the report, embargoed until October 26, in advance by registering here.

UNFPA is taking the lead in the United Nations observations of the occasion, which will include worldwide ceremonies and demographic portraits of individual countries at this historic juncture. The theme of the events is Seven Billion People – Counting on Each Other, and it has a cutting-edge website to engage people around the world: www.7billionactions.org.

Seven areas of focus have been outlined for the observations by UNFPA offices serving about 150 countries. The areas of focus include the following topics with links to a one-page background on each:

Poverty and Inequality: Breaking the Cycle
Reducing poverty and inequality also slows population growth.

Women and Girls: Empowerment and Progress
Unleashing the power of women and girls will accelerate progress on all fronts.

Young People: Forging the Future
Energetic and open to new technologies, history’s largest and most interconnected population of young people is transforming global politics and culture.

Reproductive Health and Rights: The Facts of Life
Ensuring that every child is wanted and every childbirth safe leads to smaller and stronger families.

Environment: Healthy Planet, Healthy People
All 7 billion of us, and those who will follow, depend on the health of our planet.

Ageing: An Unprecedented Challenge
Lower fertility and longer lives add up to a new challenge worldwide: ageing populations.

Urbanization: Planning for Growth
The next two billion people will live in cities, so we need to plan for them now.

For More Information Contact:
Omar Gharzeddine, +1 212 297 5028, gharzeddine@unfpa.org 

GENEVA, Sep. 30 -- Lowering abortion rates was the goal of a federal policy requiring nonprofits to stop talking about abortion services or promoting abortion rights, but according to a new report from the World Health Organization, the result of the “global gag rule” in Africa was just the opposite: abortion rates rose.

Stanford University researchers analyzed demographic and health surveys of 20 African nations for the years 2001 to 2008, when the Bush administration restored the Reagan-era “Mexico City policy” that President Clinton had overturned. It barred federal funds to all non-governmental organizations operating abroad that either provided abortion services, counseled women on abortion or advocated more liberal abortion laws.

As a result, the researchers found, groups like the International Planned Parenthood Federation had to close clinics and scale back their programs in the studied countries. In many poor African countries, such clinics are often the primary providers of women’s basic health care, including family planning services. Sampling 260,000 women of childbearing age, the researchers found that unplanned pregnancies rose in all those countries, and so did abortions, more than doubling in places where U.S. support for NGOs was cut the most.

“We had no idea what the effect would look like,” said researcher Eran Bendavid. “What we found surprised us: this policy seems to have unintended consequences.”

The loss of access to contraceptives led women to seek abortions as a form of birth control, argued Bendavid and the other researchers, Grant Miller and Patrick Avila, in their study that was published in the World Health Bulletin [link]. But abortion is illegal in most of the countries examined, so women injured in unsafe illegal abortion attempts had fewer places to go to seek treatment, and many more died.

“This evidence confirms what we have seen on the ground,” said Latanya Mapp Frett, vice president for global affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “In reality the [gag rule] policy leads to more unintended pregnancies, more unsafe abortions and more women dying from completely preventable causes.”

“The analysis shows that the stakes in this issue transcend political ideology,” Bendavid said. “Effective foreign policy must now consider the implications for maternal health in places where abortion is unsafe.”

WASHINGTON – In late October 2011, world population will reach 7 billion people. Given this new reality, unleashing the power of women and girls is key to alleviating poverty and accelerating progress on global development goals.

National Geographic magazine created a yearlong series—including a feature on changing fertility patterns in Brazil in the September 2011 issue—and has devoted a special section of its website to this population milestone. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the lead agency on the United Nations’ 7 Billion Actions campaign.

On September 13, National Geographic and UNFPA are joining several government agencies and non-governmental organizations to host an event focusing on women and girls as critical engines of change in the new reality of 7 billion people.

Speakers and a youth advocate will spotlight ways that investing in women and girls is both cost-effective and essential to solving the challenges facing today’s world. When women are healthy, educated and can contribute fully to society, they trigger progress in their families, communities and nations, improving prospects for current and future generations.

WHAT:
A special event as world population reaches the 7 billion mark to raise awareness around global issues related to women and girls, unleash their potential and empower them to bring social change.

WHO:

• Lois Quam, Executive Director of the Global Health Initiative, U.S. Department of State
  
• Donald Steinberg, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development
  
• Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund
  
• Natalie Imbruglia, Singer, Actress and Virgin Unite Ambassador to end fistula
  
• Monique Coleman, Actress (High School Musical) and United Nations Youth Championwill join;
  
• A panel of youth advocates: Ronan Farrow, Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Global Youth Issues, U.S. Department of State; Alexandra Garita, Program Officer for International Policy, International Women's Health Coalition; and Kakenya Ntaiya, President and Founder of The Kakenya Center for Excellence.
  
• A special letter with a call to action from Ashley Judd, Actress, Humanitarian and PSI Global Ambassador

WHEN: Tuesday, September 13, 2011, 3-5 p.m. (EDT)

WHERE: National Geographic Society Headquarters Auditorium, 1145 17th St. NW, Washington, D.C.

Sponsor organizations include UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund; U.S. Department of State;
U.S. Agency for International Development; United Nations Foundation; Americans for UNFPA; National Geographic; PSI (Population Services International); Population Action International; International Women’s Health Coalition; Aspen Global Health and Development; Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health; and Monique Coleman’s GimmeMo.

NOTE: A live stream of this event will start at 3:00 pm and be posted on http://www.7billionactions.org/

For More Information:
Kathy Bonk, CCMC: 202-326-6767, kathybonk@ccmc.org
Beth Foster, National Geographic Society: 202-857-7543, befoster@ngs.org
Ryan Cherlin, USAID: 202-712-0845, rcherlin@usaid.gov

Visit the fact sheets on the 7 Billion Actions website, a National Geographic 7 billion video, and a recent PBS NewsHour feature.

Note to Reporters: To arrange speaker interviews, or for media inquiries and images, please contact: Kathy Bonk, kathybonk@ccmc.org, 202-326-6767 or 202-258-6767 (cell).

For information about the National Geographic article by Cynthia Gorney and photojournalist John Stanmeyer, contact Beth Foster, befoster@ngs.org.

WASHINGTON DC, Aug. 29 -- On the heels of Vice President Biden’s recent trip to China, the leadership of the House of Representatives issued a misguided ultimatum to President Obama: defund UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, or else.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data to develop policies and programs to reduce poverty, to strengthen reproductive health programs, and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. In a world where 215 million want access to family planning services but do not have it, in which women make up the majority of those infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, and in which complications of pregnancy remain the leading cause of deaths among women in many countries, UNFPA is needed more than ever before.

This is not a controversial agenda. In fact, it is one shown to be supported by the vast majority of Americans.

But as a result of misguided ideology and politics, and at a time when women's most fundamental rights are under assault, we have been thrust into a dangerous game of falsehoods versus reality- and the stakes are high. What is the life of one woman worth? When reproductive rights are politicized, the health and safety of every woman hangs in the balance.

Each year, over 150 countries around the world contribute to helping UNFPA carry out the vital tasks it has been assigned by members of the United Nations, including the United States of America. As a global leader, the U.S. should continue to show the way. U.S. financial support to UNFPA affirms the United States long-held commitment to save lives, slow the spread of HIV and encourage gender equality. Yet partisan politics continues to play a leading role in U.S. contributions to UNFPA. Despite systematic attempts in past Administrations to link UNFPAs promotion of voluntary family planning services to China’s one child policy, no such connection exists. In 2002, both a UK parliamentary delegation as well as an independent blue-ribbon delegation sent to China by the U.S. State Department found no evidence that UNFPA supported China’s coercive birth policies. Indeed, the delegation reported that UNFPA advocated against and was a force for changing those policies. Still, UNFPA received no contribution from the U.S. from 2001 to 2007.

To be clear, UNFPA does not support coercion in family planning, coercive abortions or forced sterilizations anywhere. The rejection of these practices is a fundamental principle of UNFPAs mandate from members of the United Nations members, and as part of the mandate of the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), the development of which the U.S. played a critical leadership role.

In reality, UNFPA promotes voluntary family planning and opposes all forms of coercion, targets or quotas. Americans support the work of UNFPA and recognize that the ability to make important decisions about childbearing is one of the most basic human rights. Supporting voluntary family planning and reproductive health care programs is a critical step toward improving the status of women and upholding these basic human rights around the world. As about one fifth of the world's population, Chinese men and women have the same right as peoples elsewhere to learn about and gain from the voluntary approach family planning. And this is exactly what Americans want UNFPA to continue doing on the ground.

Claims attempting to link UNFPA with a gender imbalance resulting from son preference in China are equally unfounded. The UN and UNFPA in particular have made strong declarations against gender imbalance. In fact, UNFPA broke the taboo on this issue and became the first international agency to highlight the problem to Chinese authorities. Along with other UN agencies, UNFPA is coordinating an initiative on joint work to tackle the root causes of son preference. UNFPA's 2008-2013 Strategic Plan calls for issues around sex preference and sex-selection to be included in analyses of efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, in reproductive health-care studies, and in international forums. Today, UNFPA continues to promote gender equality in China and leads efforts to reduce discrimination and violence against women.

UNFPAs core programs help mothers survive pregnancy and childbirth, and deliver healthy newborns. The programs also encourage and enable couples to determine the number and spacing of their children and reduce the incident of HIV/AIDS. When U.S. funding is withheld, UNFPAs lifesaving work will unquestionably dwindle, making women the pawns in this dangerous game. We simply cannot allow this to happen in the spirit of ideological demagoguery and ultimatums.

For More Information Contact:
Angeline Martyn, Director of Communications & Marketing
646-649-9127; amartyn@americansforunfpa.org

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency dedicated to reducing global poverty and ensuring that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.  Americans for UNFPA builds U.S. support for the work of UNFPA, inspiring American citizens and institutions to connect their political and financial resources to this global effort.

##

WASHINGTON DC, Aug. 1 – Health care for women took an historic step forward today as the Obama administration declared eight essential preventive services that insurers will be required to make available to women without copayments.

The coverage package, to be available Aug. 1, 2012, will benefit millions of women by providing them with FDA-approved contraceptives; annual well-woman visits; screenings for cervical cancer, HIV/AIDS and diabetes when women are pregnant; violence counseling; and breast-feeding supplies without cost to women beyond their health insurance premiums.

“Not doing it would be like not covering flu shots,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in announcing the decision.

She acted on a near-unanimous recommendation last month by an independent panel of experts from the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. The panel said prevention of unintended pregnancies is essential for women’s physical, psychological and emotional health and should be covered as routine essential preventive care.

An estimated 98 percent of sexually active American women have used a contraceptive at some point in their lives, and surveys find overwhelming support for universal access to it. According to a recent Thomson Reuters-NPR health poll, 77 percent of Americans believe that private medical insurance should provide no-cost birth control and 74 percent believe that government-sponsored plans should do the same.

In 2009, about a third of low- and middle-income women reported that they had put off physicians’ visits related to family planning in order to save money: brand-name contraceptives can cost $60 per month or more.

Analysts say the new coverage under the Affordable Care Act is cost effective. Family planning coverage has historically saved money not only for women but for insurers, by reducing their spending on pregnancy complications and treatments for unsafe abortions.

Below are links to statements from officials, experts and organizations in support of the HHS decision.

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD)
Contact: Communications Office, Office of Senator Barbara Mikulski, 202-228-1122
Read her statement here.

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
Read her statement here.

Congresswoman Capps (CA-23)
Read her statement here.

Congresswoman DeLauro (CT-3)
Contact: Kaelan Richards, 202-225-3661
Read her statement here.

Catholics for Choice
Contact: Adrianne Burke, 202-986-6093
Read their statement here.

Center for Reproductive Rights
Contact: Dionne Scott, 917-637-3649, dscott@reprorights.org
Read their statement here.

Choice USA
Contact: Kate Childs Graham, 202-615-2424, kchildsgraham@choiceusa.org
Read their statement here.

Guttmacher Institute
Contact: Joerg Dreweke, 202-296-4012 x4235, jdreweke@guttmacher.org
Read their statement here.

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
Contact: Rebecca Medina, 202-621-1426, Rebecca@latinainstitite.org
Read their statement here.

National Partnership for Women & Families
Contact: Freya Riedlin, 202- 986-2600, friedlin@nationalpartnership.org
Read their statement here.

Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Contact: Alexandra Ringe, 646-649-9907,
alexandra@prch.org
Read their statement here.

Raising Women’s Voices
Contact: Cindy Pearson, 202-682-2640 or Lois Uttley, 212-870-2010
Read their statement here.

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Contact: Marjorie Signer, 202-628-7700 x12, msigner@rcrc.org
Read their statement here.

Reproductive Health Technologies Project
Contact: Morganne Rosenhaus, 202-530-4401, mrosenhaus@rhtp.org
Read their statement here.

Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health
Contact: Sara Eskrich, (608) 669-6979
Read their statement here.

NEW YORK, July 8 – With the Earth’s population set to reach 7 billion in October 2011, countries and communities around the world will observe World Population Day on July 11 with a focus on this global milestone.

Although people are living longer and healthier lives and couples worldwide are choosing to have fewer children, in a recent op-ed, UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin cautioned that “we are faced with the largest ever group of potential parents. And great disparities exist between countries. While many wealthy and middle-income nations are concerned with low fertility rates and ageing citizens, the world's poorest nations struggle to meet the needs of young and rapidly growing populations.”

Dr. Osotimehin urges engagement to reduce inequities and improve living standards for people today as well as future generations and views the 7 billion mark as “a challenge, an opportunity and a call to action.”

On July 11, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund will launch the 7 Billion Actions campaign designed to educate people on what it means to live in a world with 7 billion people and encourage action on issues that affect everyone.

The date the world reaches the next billion – and the ones after that – depends on policy and funding decisions made now about maternal and child health care, access to family planning, girls’ education, and expanded opportunities for women.

“Individual actions multiplied many times over can make a world of difference. Together we are 7 billion people counting on each other,” said Dr. Osotimehin.

For more information contact:

Abubakar Dungus, +1 212 297 5031, dungus@unfpa.org

Sarah Craven, +1 202 326 8713, scraven@unfpadc.org

DURBAN, South Africa, June 20 – Up to 90 percent of maternal deaths worldwide could be averted by fielding 350,000 more midwives able to refer the worst complications to specialized care, a convention of midwives was told here today.

The 58 developing countries where maternal and newborn deaths are highest could save 3.6 million lives by 2015 by training enough midwives and creating adequate facilities to deal with complications, according to a new report, The State of the World’s Midwifery 2011, from UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

Each year, 358,000 women die while pregnant or giving birth, some two million newborns die within the first 24 hours of life and there are 2.6 million stillbirths, all because of inadequate or insufficient health care.

“The report points to an urgent need to train more health workers with midwifery skills and ensure equitable access to their life-saving services,” said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA.

The study, a collaborative product of UNFPA and 30 partner organizations, surveyed the 58 countries where 91 percent of all maternal deaths occur. It documents a major gap between the number of midwives available and those needed to save mothers’ lives, as well as major discrepancies among and within countries in midwife quality, training, regulation and government policy awareness.

Bridget Lynch, president of the International Confederation of Midwives, said the organization’s new standards for midwifery education and regulation would help governments carry out the report’s recommendations. “This report clearly identifies the need to create a competent, active midwifery workforce, working as a key part of an effective health care system,” she told the group’s convention.

Read the full press release here.

For more information contact:

In Durban: Leyla Alyanak, alyanak@unfpa.org, +27 76 107 1661 or Adebayo Fayoyin, fayoyin@unfpa.org, +27 78 606 6715.

In New York: Omar Gharzeddine, gharzeddine@unfpa.org, +1 212 297 5028

Geneva, June 14 – In a statement issued today, five United Nations agencies stress the need to address gender-biased sex selection as a women’s human rights issue.

Released by OHCHR, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women and the WHO,* the statement examines evidence behind the causes and consequences of “son preference” or sex selection in favor of males seen in many parts of Asia where ratios as high as 130 boys for every 100 girls have been noted.

“There is huge pressure on women to produce sons…which not only directly affects women’s reproductive decisions, with implications for their health and survival, but also puts women in a position where they must perpetuate the lower status of girls through son preference," according to the statement. "It is also women who have to bear the consequences of giving birth to an unwanted girl child. These consequences can include violence, abandonment, divorce or even death.”

The practice of sex selection has led to a sex-ratio imbalance in a number of countries and increased the possibility of violence against women resulting from the disparity. The unavailability of marriageable women in some regions may also lead to the trafficking of women from other areas or bride sharing.

“Renewed and concerted efforts are needed by governments and civil society to address the deeply rooted gender discrimination which lies at the heart of sex selection,” experts from the UN agencies noted.

The statement recommends a multi-pronged approach to tackling the problem including: the collection of more reliable data on the extent of the problem and the factors driving it; guidelines on the use of technology for health professionals; supportive measures for girls and women, such as incentives for families with only daughters; and other legal and awareness-raising actions.

* Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the World Health Organization (WHO)


Read the full press release here.
Read the full 26-page UN Statement Publication here.

For more information, contact:

OHCHR: Ravina Shamdasani, +41-22-917-9310, rshamdasani@ohchr.org
UNFPA: Omar Gharzeddine, +1 212 297-5028, gharzeddine@unfpa.org 

UNICEF: Christopher Tidey, +41 22 909 5715, ctidey@unicef.org
UN Women: Oisika Chakrabarti, Oisika.Chakrabarti@unwomen.org
WHO: Avni Amin, + 41 22 791 2306, amina@who.int

New York, June 10 – Programs to help women and girls living with HIV/AIDS must have stronger political support and better funding if the pandemic is ever to be halted, according to the head of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin told world leaders during the United Nations AIDS Summit meeting yesterday that available services are inadequate to prevent widespread mother-to-child transmission of HIV and to meet demand for anti-retroviral drugs in general and for female condoms.

“I can say with certainty that we will not be able to stop HIV and improve women’s and girls’ health until we empower women, advance gender equality and engage men and boys in this effort,” he said. “Access to resources remains a critical challenge for scaling up gender-responsive HIV programming.”

Osotimehin called for the creation and adequate funding of programs to “address the needs and rights of women living with HIV in their full diversity and throughout their life cycle.” He also welcomed Tuesday’s UN Security Council resolution that underscored the need for broader attention to curbing the epidemic in conflict and post-conflict situations.

Read the full press release here.

For more information contact:
Abubakar Dungus, +1 212 297 5031, dungus@unfpa.org

Omar Gharzeddine, +1 212 297 5028, gharzeddine@unfpa.org 


WASHINGTON DC, June 6 - Tomorrow, June 7, is the anniversary of the 1965 Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut that legalized family planning and the right to individual privacy in family planning decisions.

The date also opens a series of activities to draw attention to the need for family planning services to be fully covered in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid, as well as to call for full funding for Title X (Title Ten), the National Family Planning Program.

The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) is featuring on its website (www.NFPRHA.org) background information on the Griswold v Connecticut case. A new public opinion poll shows overwhelming support for family planning programs, with 84% of Americans viewing family planning, including contraceptives and birth control, as important to basic preventive health services. Of these, a full 67% feel very strongly.

Survey director Celinda Lake said in an audio briefing:  "It's an election issue." The poll found that 40% of voters said they would be less likely to support elected officials who vote to defund family planning programs. Six in ten Americans also believe that everyone has a right to safe, affordable family planning services, while only 31% agree that budget concerns should require cuts in funding.

Go here for a copy of the full press release on the poll: http://www.nfprha.org/images/insert/NFPRHA_CCMC_Polling_Press_Release_6-3-2011.pdf

Go here for a copy of the full polling memo: http://www.nfprha.org/images/insert/Memo_NFPRHA_CCMC_Omnibus_060211.pdf

Go here for a copy of key polling slides: http://www.nfprha.org/images/insert/Lake_Polling_Slides_NFPRHA_CCMC_June_2011.pdf

The Guttmacher Institute has a state-by-state analysis of Title X programs and funding -- a program that funds care for lower income people.

For more information contact:

Marcela Howell, mhowell@ccmc.org, 202-326-8710, cell: 202-841-3292

Joerg Dreweke, jdreweke@guttmacher.org, 202-296-4012 x4235

NEW YORK, May 10 – In a world of seven billion people, greater investments in women’s empowerment, young people and reproductive health are critical for a livable planet, according to a new report today from UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

The United Nations recently calculated that world population will reach 7 billion people in late October 2011, only 12 years after hitting 6 billion in 1999, and is continuing to grow by 78 million people per year. Most of the increase is occurring in the developing world, where 215 million women would like to limit their family size but have little or no access to modern family planning. Many women lack the power to overcome traditional practices or family opposition to using it, the UNFPA report said.

“When girls are educated, healthy and can avoid child marriage, unintended pregnancy and HIV, they can contribute fully to their societies’ battles against poverty,” said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA executive director. “Empowering women and girls starts with improved access to reproductive health care and family planning.”

The report noted that in the world’s 48 poorest countries, where population is expected to double by 2050, some 60 percent of the people are under age 25.  In such places, Osotimehin said, “Too many teenage girls become mothers, too many die giving birth, too many drop out of school, too many are abused and discriminated against in their daily lives.”

Rapid population growth is already straining less-developed countries’ capacity to provide essential services such as health, education, transportation and sanitation, and young peoples’ lives and productivity suffer accordingly, the report said.

The UNFPA report is entitled Population Dynamics and Poverty in the LDCs: Challenges and Opportunities for Development and Poverty Reduction.

Read the UNFPA press release here.

For more information contact:
Mr. Omar Gharzeddine: +1 212-297-5028, gharzeddine@unfpa.org
Mr. Nezih Tavlas: Cell: 0543 452 1145 or 0312 454 11 85, nezih.tavlas@un.org