Family planning and reproductive health programs are a major U.S. development assistance success story. Since 1965, USAID has been the world leader in program initiatives and funding. Working at the request of developing country partners, USAID-supported programs enhance individuals’ abilities to choose the number and spacing of their children, provide critical health benefits for mothers and young children, reduce the incidence of abortion, contribute to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, and slow population growth rates to levels consistent with sustainable development.

In FY 2001, Congress appropriated $425 million for population programs. An additional $1 billion was provided for other health programs, including child survival and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, and infectious diseases.

How Population assistance is provided.

Centrally supported activities are managed by the Center for Population, Health, and Nutrition (PHN). Most of the Center’s work is carried out through contracts and agreements with cooperating agencies (CAs), which primarily are U.S.-based non-governmental organizations and include academic institutions and non-profit service and research organizations as well as for profit companies. The CAs provide technical assistance to developing country service providers in both the public and private sectors.

Bilateral programs, administered through the field Missions of USAID, provide direct assistance to host country institutions and also contract with CAs for additional technical support.

Funding provided to host country organizations breaks down in roughly the following proportions:

Private Non-Profit 55 percent

Private For-Profit 8 percent

Universities 3 percent

International Agencies 1 percent

Foreign Governments 33 percent

Program support to the four Regional Bureaus is provided in the following rough proportions:

Asia and Near East 38 percent

Latin America/Caribbean 20 percent

Africa 33 percent

Former Soviet Union 5 percent

Facts and Figures

Federal spending for foreign assistance is only a small portion of the government’s annual budget. Less than 1 percent of the total budget goes to international assistance, with half this total going to economic aid and humanitarian assistance. International family planning programs receive 2/100ths of one percent of this budget, the equivalent of $1.70 per year for each American – or the price of a cup of coffee.

The annual cost of providing family planning services is extremely low relative to the benefits. Studies in several countries show that for every dollar invested in family planning, governments save as much as $16 in reduced expenditures in health, education, and social services. In Tunisia, where USAID assistance was phased out in 1994, more than $900 million in public expenditures for health and education have been saved.

USAID’s support has led to dramatic increases in contraceptive use in many parts of the world. In Kenya, use has more than quadrupled since 1977. In two “graduated” countries, Brazil and Mexico, use has doubled in the past two decades.

Because of USAID’s contributions, an estimated 39 percent of women in the developing world (excluding China) use modern methods of contraception. In the 28 countries with the largest USAID-funded family planning programs, the average number of children has dropped from more than 6 to less than 4.

Funding Priorities – Service Delivery, Education, Commodities

Voluntary family planning service delivery and related supplies consistently receive the greatest proportion of funding. Service delivery support covers commodities; training for physicians, paramedics and fieldworkers; applied research; technical assistance in the design and improvement of services; and efforts to improve quality of care.

When requested by governments, USAID provides technical assistance to help analyze and change government policies, which may affect the availability of, and the demand for, family planning services. Policy support also can include analysis of the impact of rapid population growth on other development sectors, such as food, health, and energy.

Commodities are crucial to successful family planning efforts. USAID’s research and development has led to significant advances in contraceptive technology. Numerous countries and donors rely on USAID’s contraceptive logistics and supply forecasting system that ensures availability throughout the year. The Agency will continue to support development of new contraceptive methods and improvement of the safety and effectiveness of existing contraceptives.

USAID has been increasing the allocations to foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs), reflecting the Agency’s commitment to creating effective indigenous partnerships and to integrating family planning programs into overall country development assistance programs.

The Office of Population targets its funds for activities that meet changing family planning and reproductive health needs and that can impact the availability of services and the health of women and their families.

· Post Abortion Care – Providing women, who have had medical emergencies due to abortions, with life-saving medical care coupled with contraceptive information and services not only reduces maternal death and illness but also prevents repeat abortions.

· Youth – More than one billion young people aged 15-24, the largest youth cohort in history, are entering their childbearing years. They will need effective education to delay sexual debut and marriage as well as access to family planning services to prevent both unintended pregnancies and the risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.

· Preventing HIV/AIDS – Reinforcing education and counseling to promote abstinence and condom use and other HIV/AIDS prevention messages in family planning services, especially in medium to high prevalence countries, can contribute to more effective HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

Prepared October 2001

* All figures reflect FY 2001 allocations except where otherwise indicated.