UK pledges £254 million to expand family planning and maternal health services worldwide

Millions of women and girls in some of the world’s poorest countries will gain greater choice over whether and when to become pregnant through a new package of UK support, according to a press release issued on 24 September 2026 by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). The £254 million investment will make voluntary family planning a possibility for more than 15 million women per year. It could prevent 14 million unintended pregnancies and over 35,000 maternal deaths by 2028. The funding will also expand access to high-quality contraceptives and safe abortion products across 54 countries, including conflict zones. Support will further extend to life-saving medicines for mothers and newborn babies.

Maternal deaths have fallen by 40% since 2000, but progress has been uneven, with 70% of maternal deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these deaths are preventable when quality sexual and reproductive healthcare and medicines are available. An estimated 259 million women who wish to avoid or delay pregnancy are not using safe, modern methods. The initiative responds to persistent gaps in reproductive health coverage. It targets countries with the highest rates of death in childbirth and the lowest rates of contraceptive use.

The funding will be delivered through the CHOICES programme, the UK’s largest investment in sexual and reproductive rights. Experts will work with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) across more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries. Women will be offered a full range of family planning products, including condoms, pills, implants and coils. The programme will also introduce novel blood measurement equipment that improves early detection of post-partum haemorrhage. Treatments proven to reduce severe bleeding by almost two thirds will also be made available.

Kirsty McNeill, Minister for Development, said: “It is a scandal that women and girls are denied the fundamental right to make informed choices about their own body, free from coercion, discrimination and violence.” She added that every woman and girl should be able to make decisions about her own future. That choice, she noted, can mean staying in school, finding work or surviving childbirth. Diene Keita, UNFPA Executive Director, described the commitment as a powerful signal that women’s health and rights cannot wait. Caitlin Glover, CHAI Vice President of Women’s & Newborn Health, said the UK’s commitment will change outcomes for millions.

CHOICES operates in more than 50 countries, including Afghanistan, Chad, the Gambia, Malawi, Sudan, and Yemen. The programme also provides emergency support to countries facing humanitarian crises. As part of the UK’s modernised approach to development, the initiative will work in partnership with national governments. The goal is to transition away from donor funding and build sustainable health systems. The investment reinforces the UK’s role in advancing global maternal and reproductive health.