We need 1,000,000 people to tell Congress: Access to contraceptives and Reproductive Health Care is an ESSENTIAL RIGHT.
- 215 million women who want to avoid a pregnancy are not using modern methods of birth control.
- Every year 356,000 women die as a result of pregnancy-related complications.
- Millions of young people are at risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases.
- Preventing unwanted pregnancies helps to protect the environment and combat severe poverty.
- The U.S. and other donor nations need to fulfill the commitments made at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development
To achieve the U.N.'s goal of UNIVERSAL ACCESS by 2015 the U.S. needs to boost it's annual support to at least $1 BILLION
Why 2015? As part of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for eliminating extreme poverty, the United Nations has set 2015 as the target year for providing universal access to reproductive health services.
Why $1 billion? Providing modern methods of contraception to 215 million women will cost $3.6 billion (US$). If the 2015 target is to be met, the U.S and other donors must increase their support. In fiscal year 2010, the United States appropriated $648 million, $352 million less than the $1 billion requested by the International Family Planning Coalition and other U.S advocates.