The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development set broad new goals for family planning and reproductive health. The resources available to fund these much needed programmes, however, are much smaller than was originally calculated. To divide the limited budgets for the maximum health impact, likely resource flows need to be set against the cost of various family planning and reproductive health interventions. Preliminary analysis suggests that selection of cost-effective delivery of family planning services would still meet much of the need for family planning, and that some progress could be made towards improved control of sexually transmitted diseases.
PIP: The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) laid out the agenda needed to improve women's health and accelerate the trend toward lower fertility. Although fertility rates in many less developed countries have declined rapidly over the past 30 years, mainly because of increased access to family planning, that trend will not continue unless support for population activities increases. Funds available to implement the ICPD Plan of Action come from national budgets, the international donor community, and money spent by consumers. Allocations and expenditures by the relatively more wealthy countries are, however, far lower than those needed to meet ICPD targets. The demand for family planning in developing countries is large and almost certain to rise, while investment in HIV prevention is growing more urgent. It is unlikely that enough funds will be made available to accommodate what is needed to achieve the goals of the ICPD Plan of Action. The cost of providing family planning and reproductive health services in less developed countries is discussed. In the final analysis, pursuit of the cost-effective delivery of family planning services using whatever funds are available could still meet much of the need for family planning, and some progress can be made against the spread of STDs.