Population, Fertility and Family Planning in Pakistan: A Program in Stagnation
October 6, 2008
Few outsiders are likely aware of the stagnation of Pakistan's family planning program, which provides key services and affects the country's larger demographic trajectory....Pakistan was among the vanguard countries in Asia in starting a family planning program more than five decades ago, with intermittent support from international donors including the United States. Yet fertility has declined more slowly in Pakistan than in most other Asian countries.
Population Action International Joins European Partners in Condemning U.S. Government Ban on Contraceptives to Africa
October 3, 2008
The European NGOs for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Population and Development (EuroNGOs) issued a statement today shocked about a recent decision by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). On October 1 it was revealed that USAID had issued instructions to its staff to pressure several African governments to discontinue provision of U.S.-funded contraceptives to Maries Stopes International (MSI), one of the world's leading family planning organizations.
"New" Donors: A New Resource for Family Planning and Reproductive Health Financing?
August 15, 2008
While the past decades have seen a foreign aid field dominated by the world's wealthy countries who are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and its Development Assistance Committee (DAC), a new form a donorship has emerged, or more accurately, re-emerged. Aid funding from prosperous, yet still developing countries to other developing countries has drawn international attention, much of it from a critical perspective. A 2007 article in Foreign Policy labeled aid from China, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia as both “generous” and “toxic,” while a recent cover of the Economist labeled China “The New Colonialists.” However, an increase in global aid to the poorest countries, delivered with fresh perspectives and an intensified spirit of South-South cooperation has many potential benefits.
Reclaiming the ABCs - The Creation and Evolution of the ABC Approach
August 4, 2008
The building blocks of the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful and use Condoms) approach to HIV prevention have existed for many years and were implemented in independent ways in various countries. This report chronicles the history of the ABCs and advocates a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention.
Condoms and Contraceptives Count: Condom Use to Prevent Unintended Pregnancies Has Dramatic Effect On Reducing New HIV Infections Worldwide
July 22, 2008
Audio news conference: More than 25 years into the AIDS pandemic, prevention remains a top priority in the continued fight against new HIV infections. A report called Comprehensive HIV Prevention: Condoms and Contraceptives Count, issued by Population Action International (PAI), will be released next month at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Despite the irrefutable evidence of contraceptives' critical importance in preventing HIV infection, donor support for condoms in developing countries remains stagnant and far below projected need. Consequently, preventable HIV infections continue to rise. Three experts on the issue will highlight new research findings and provide six key recommendations to address gaps in the provision and use of condoms and contraceptives.
Comprehensive HIV Prevention: Condoms and Contraceptives Count
July 22, 2008
More than 25 years into the AIDS epidemic, prevention remains a top priority in the continued fight against new HIV infections. Today, new HIV infections outnumber persons receiving treatment by nearly three to one. Comprehensive HIV Prevention: Condoms and Contraceptives Count provides evidence that condoms and contraceptives must be promoted as scientifically proven components of comprehensive HIV prevention
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Increase in U.S. International Family Planning Assistance
July 18, 2008
Washington, DC … Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a funding increase and important advances in the policies governing international family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) programs in adopting its version of the fiscal year 2009 bill funding the Department of State and U.S. foreign assistance programs.
PAI Hails Historic Increase in U.S. International Family Planning Assistance
July 16, 2008
Washington, DC … With the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee's approval today of the fiscal year 2009 foreign assistance bill, the House of Representatives has taken a major step forward in addressing the family planning needs of millions of women and couples in poor, developing nations. The $600 million allocated for international family planning and reproductive health programs is the largest total amount ever provided by the United States for family planning programs (not accounting for inflation) and the largest one-year dollar increase in these programs on record. It marks a 28 percent increase above current (FY 2008) levels and an 83 percent increase above the President's request.
Senate Passage of Landmark HIV/AIDS Bill; Failure to Maximize Prevention Efforts
July 16, 2008
Washington, DC … The Senate passage of legislation to extend and expand the U.S. commitment to addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis – the largest single commitment by any government -- deserves recognition for the life-saving impact it has, and will continue to have, on the lives of millions in need. Population Action International applauds this level of commitment to fighting this pandemic. But as an organization that works to improve the health of men, women and children in the developing world, PAI is profoundly disappointed in the failure of Congress to use the reauthorization process to make the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) even more effective and successful in preventing the transmission of this deadly disease.
PAI Condemns Bush Administration Threat to Dramatically Expand Ban on Funding Organizations Working to Reform Chinese Population Program
June 27, 2008
Washington, DC… Because the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provides funding for health services, including voluntary family planning, in China where the government maintains a “one-child policy,” the Bush administration decided Thursday to once again unjustly withhold U.S. funding to UNFPA, as it has for the last seven years. While the decision was not a surprise, it was no less disappointing. Contrary to the administration's assertions, UNFPA provides alternative and voluntary approaches to China's compulsory family planning program.
Now, however, the Bush administration has threatened to dramatically expand the interpretation of the so-called Kemp-Kasten amendment, which until now has been limited only to UNFPA, to also cut off funding to other nongovernmental organizations solely because they operate health programs in China.
