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Add to Preferred SourcesHow much would it cost to achieve a world where no woman dies from pregnancy-related causes, lacks access to modern family planning, or is subject to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) or child marriage – all in about 10 years?
New preliminary figures compiled by researchers from UNFPA and Johns Hopkins University, in collaboration with Victoria University and Avenir Health, reveal that to end preventable maternal deaths in 76 high-burden countries by 2030, annual spending would need to rise six-fold, to $7.8 billion from $1.4 billion in 2018.
Achieving zero women dying from preventable causes related to childbirth within the next decade in those 76 countries has a total price tag of $61 billion in direct health service costs. This includes paying for medical staff, drugs and obstetric supplies.
More investment in maternal health would also make easily preventable and treatable conditions that arise from complications in childbirth – such as obstetric fistula – extremely rare.
Updated figures will be made public in November at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 as the analysis is refined and expanded.
Modern family planning is not only a human right – it saves women’s lives by reducing the incidence of unintended pregnancies. Family planning is additionally essential for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. Yet it remains out of reach for millions around the world.
Ensuring universal access to family planning in 78 countries with high levels of unmet need by 2030 would require almost doubling the users of modern contraception to 560 million, from 300 million in 2018. This would require twice the annual spending: $4.5 billion compared to $2.3 billion last year. The total bill would be in the region of $40 billion.
Ending child marriage is also makes economic sense. The new estimates show that every dollar invested to reduce child marriage in these countries could yield more than $7 in direct benefits from more education.
Original source: UNFPA
Published on 29 July 2019