February 2011's Edition of
POPULATION ONLINE
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• Global Petition Campaign Launched
  In February, the Population Institute joined 15 other organizations in launching a new global petition campaign urging U.S. and other donor nations to increase their support for family planning and reproductive health programs. The effort calls upon the international community to make access to contraceptives and reproductive health services a reality, not just a right. Dubbed the "Million for a Billion" petition campaign, the effort seeks to collect a million on-line signatures in support of a $1 billion increase in the level of international support for contraceptives and reproductive health programs in the developing world. That includes a boost in the U.S. funding level to $1 billion--an increase of $352 million from last year's funding level.
• Progress in the Fight Against FGM/C
  February 6th was the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). While it is widely recognized today as a violation of the rights of women and girls, the practice still persists. About 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM/C with 3 million girls in Africa alone at risk of cutting every year. The severity of the practice ranges from cutting to the total removal of the external female genitalia, but in any form it exacts an unacceptable toll on girls and women.
• President Obama Proposes Increase in Funding for International Family Planning
  In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2012, President Obama requested $769 million for international family planning and reproductive health programs, a 19 percent increase in the $648 million appropriated level currently in effect. The President request includes a $47.5 million for the United Nations Population Fund. While the President's request falls short of the full $1 billion requested by family planning advocates, it demonstrated the Administration's continuing commitment to meeting the family planning needs of women and men in the developing world.
• UNICEF’s State of the World's Children Focuses on Adolescents
  UNICEF reported that investments during the last two decades have resulted in enormous gains for young children under the age of 10, including a 33 per cent drop in the global under-five mortality rate. Also in most of the world's regions girls are now almost as likely as boys to go to primary school, and millions of children now benefit from improved access to safe water and critical medicines, such as routine vaccinations.
• Congressional Opponents of Family Planning on the Attack
  In February, House Republicans opposed to family planning launched a two –pronged attack. First, they announced that they wanted to wipe out the Title X Family Planning program. Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing access to contraceptive services, supplies and information to low-income families in the U.S. Over the past 40 years, Title X family planning clinics have played a vital role in ensuring access to a broad range of family planning and related preventive health services for millions of low-income households. While the U.S. House stopped short of eliminating all funding, it did vote to de-fund one of the major providers of family planning assistance: Planned Parenthood affiliates.
• New York Times Decries "War on Women"
  The New York Times ran an editorial criticizing House Republicans for "mounting an assault on women's health and freedom that would deny millions of women access to affordable contraception and life-saving cancer screenings and cut nutritional support for millions of newborn babies in struggling families." The editorial warned that "These are treacherous times for women's reproductive rights and access to essential health care. House Republicans mistakenly believe they have a mandate to drastically scale back both even as abortion warfare is accelerating in the states. To stop them, President Obama's firm leadership will be crucial. So will the rising voices of alarmed Americans."