July 2012's Edition of
POPULATION ONLINE
Brings you stories on...

• Hopes High for London Family Planning Summit
  While the Rio 20 Summit disappointed environmental leaders and reproductive rights advocates, hopes are high for the upcoming International Family Planning Summit being held in London on July 11, World Population Day. Convened by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the London gathering is expected to yield $4 billion in new commitments to international family planning, enough to provide contraceptive services to an additional 120 million women in the developing world by 2020. The London summit will represent a major turning point, reversing a near two-decade decline in international support for family planning and reproductive health. Several nations and dozens of foundations and nonprofit organizations will be attending the London summit.
• Rio Plus 20 Earth Summit Falls Short of Expectations
  The Rio Plus 20 Earth Summit failed to yield verifiable commitments on fossil fuel subsidies and other environmental concerns, but progress was made on a "range of outcomes which, if embraced over the coming months and years, offer the opportunity to catalyze pathways towards a more sustainable 21st century." Most importantly, the Rio delegates approved, in principle, the creation of a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to respond to a "a range of challenges from water and land up to food waste around the globe." Designed, in part, to complement the Millennium Development Goals, the SDGs are expected to put greater emphasis on finding sustainable ways of supporting economic development. The delegates also approved changes aimed at strengthening the role of the United Nations Environment Programme in addressing global environment challenges. While the delegates reaffirmed support for family planning, reproductive health, and the ICPD Programme of Action, they stopped short of backing reproductive rights.
• Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act
  On June 28, its final day in session, the United States Supreme Court handed down the decision the country had been waiting months (if not years) for: President Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) was deemed constitutional. Thanks to the ACA (also commonly referred to as "Obamacare"), women across the United States will have access to a range of preventive health services (including mammograms, annual well-woman visits, breastfeeding counseling, and contraceptives, among others) with no required co-pay. The fights over universal healthcare and contraceptive coverage, however, are far from over. While supporters of the ACA were breathing a sigh of relief, opponents began making plans for its repeal in Congress.
• New Report Estimates 222 Million Women with "Unmet" Family Planning Need
  A recently released report from the Guttmacher Institute and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), "Adding it Up: Costs and Benefits of Contraceptive Services –Estimates for 2012," estimated that there are 222 million women in the developing world today who want to avoid a pregnancy in the next two years, but who are not using a modern contraceptive method. This new number is an increase from the previously cited 215 million, but, through different evaluation methods, the report revised the earlier number up to 226 million. Thus, the number of women with an "unmet need" has declined by an estimated 4 million over the past four years. Notable progress has been made in some parts of the developing world over the past four years, but in the 69 poorest countries there was no decline in the absolute number of women with an "unmet need." In fact, there was an increase in sub-Saharan Africa, from 50 million in 2008 to 53 million in 2012. While some of the 222 million women cite lack access to contraceptives as the reason they are not using a modern method of birth control, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) suggest that other factors, such as male opposition or misinformation about contraceptive risks, may play a larger role.
• Senate Appropriation Bill Includes Slight Cut in Title X Funding for FY2013
  In a party line vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY2013 budget for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. The bill included $293.9 million for Title X, the federal program which supports family planning clinics serving low-income households. This figure represents a nearly $3 million cut from the previous year's level ($296.8 million). More cuts are anticipated as the House Appropriations Subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT), takes up the funding bill. Last year the House subcommittee voted to eliminate all funding for Title X, including money for Planned Parenthood clinics. The subcommittee also slashed funding for teen pregnancy prevention initiatives, while boosting support for failed "abstinence only" education programs.
• Campaigns to End Child Marriage Gaining Momentum
  While resurgent support for international family planning may be stealing the headlines this month, progress is also being made in efforts to end child marriage. In recent years, a number of new initiatives have been launched. The Elders, a group of global leaders working together for peace and human rights, have launched Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage. The Elders is led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who serves as the Chair. In addition, the United Nations Foundation has put considerable resources into the Girl Up campaign, which seeks to build grassroots support in the U.S. for programs aimed at curbing child marriage practices. It seeks, by October 11, 2013, to enlist 500,000 Americans in their campaign. To date, Girl Up is nearly halfway (235,000) towards that goal. Progress is even being made in Congress; the U.S. Senate recently approved a bill, offered by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), which would require the U.S. government to develop a long-term strategy to address child marriage.