Metropolitan Model United Nations Conference XLII UN Women

Access to Contraception
On November 23, 2013, the United Nations, for the first time, declared that access to contraception is a fundamental human right. No doubt, this resolution has sparked heated debate and will continue to do so. Nevertheless, there is compelling evidence from many sources that access to contraception is an essential need. The Population Council predicts that total world population will reach 8.9 billion by 2050 far higher than the 2004 estimate of 6.4 billion.1 Contraceptive use in both developed and developing countries has steadily risen, but a high percentage of couples have little or no access to contraception, and the number of unwanted pregnancies continues to rise. While 86% of married women ages 15-49 in Bulgaria have access to contraception the highest rate in the world only 5 countries have rates of 80% or higher. Seventeen countries in Africa have access rates of less than 20%, with only 4% of married women in Chad having access to contraception. 2 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that as many as 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, and 25% are unwelcome. Unwanted pregnancies disproportionately occur among young, unmarried girls who often lack access to contraception. 215 million women who want to delay childbearing or who want no more children 1 in 6 women of reproductive age need effective contraception methods but do not have them. Unintended pregnancy has an enormous economic cost for girls, women, communities, and nations. More than 40% of the worlds population is under age 25; reproductive choices are the key to ensuring economic opportunity for this generation. Pregnancy radically changes both the present and the future for girls and young women, rarely for the better. All too often, a girls education will end, and her job prospects evaporate, while her vulnerabilities to poverty, health problems, social exclusion and dependency multiply.3 Children, especially those unintentionally conceived, place a financial burden on parents. This burden on women increases if the father is absent or leaves the mother. Women are often prevented from achieving a stable economic status by giving birth to children early in their lives. Recognizing this, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has called for the increased use of birth control in order to alleviate the difficult financial situations of many of his people. There are more economic costs tied to health care. A study by the UNFPA/Guttmacher Institute determined that every dollar spent on contraception reduces total medical spending by $1.40 by reducing money spent on unplanned births and abortions. In addition, investing in family planning enables faster economic growth in nations by changing the age structure and dependency ratio of a given population. Depending on what services are offered, each dollar spent on family planning can save government $4 in spending on health, housing, water, sewage, and other public services. 4 Unwanted pregnancies cost individuals and countries vast sums of money and resources.

Such pregnancies have an enormous health cost as well. More than 25% of pregnancies worldwide about 52 million annually end in abortion. Often, these are illegal, clandestine procedures, leading to the deaths of between 47,000 and 68,000 women each year. 13% of all maternal deaths stem from unsafe abortions. Childbirth itself remains a leading cause of death in many developing countries. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Mon, quoting from a UNFPA study, reported that an estimated 3 million unsafe abortions took place in developing countries among girls ages 15-19 in 2008.5 Young girls who carry their pregnancies to term are at a double risk of maternal death and serious obstetric injury that will impact them for the rest of their lives if they survive childbirth. UNFPA estimates that investing another $12 billion a year(for a total of $24 billion) could provide every woman who needs it with contraception and the recommended standard of maternal and newborn care. This would reduce unwanted pregnancy by more than 66%, prevent 70% of maternal deaths, avert 44% of newborn deaths, and reduce unsafe abortions by 73%.6 Contraception is also crucial in containing the spread of HIV and AIDS. According to UNAIDS, about of the 34 million people living with AIDS are women. In SubSaharan Africa, nearly 60% of all new HIV infections occur in women. Almost 2,000 adolescent girls contract HIV every day, often as a result of sexual violence and the lack of birth control. These girls and women then risk passing on HIV to their babies. The issue before this committee is timely. The Third International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP 2013) was held in Ethiopia from November 10 15, 2013. The African Union nations focused discussion on the key role of family planning in helping nations reap the benefits of a demographic dividend the accelerated economic growth that can result from a rapid decline in a countrys fertility rate coupled with smart investments in health, education, and job creations. Multiple Asian countries have achieved the demographic dividend. Now, with the right investments, it could be within the reach of African nations.7 Another topic for discussion at ICPF 2013 was Family Planning 2020, a network of cooperation that aims to meet the Family Planning Summits goal to reach an additional 120 million women and girls with access to family planning information, services, and contraception supplies by 2020. One obstacle to meeting this goal is ignorance. A UNFPA study shows that more than 60% of adolescent men and women in four sub -Saharan countries did not know how to prevent pregnancy, and more than one-third did not know how to obtain contraceptives.8 Another obstacle is the difficulty of providing reproductive health services and education in countries with remote mountainous and rural areas or inadequate infrastructures such as roads. The task of this committee is to consider how access to contraception can be expanded. Education, funding, infrastructure needs, religious opposition to contraception, and the low status of women in many countries are all important concerns that may need to be considered. Questions to Consider: What are your countrys current rates for fertility, maternal mortality, and infant mortality? How available is contraception in your country?

 What objections, if any, does your country have to expanding access to contraception? What obstacles stand in the way of providing access to contraception to more women in your country? How could your country benefit from women being more in control of their pregnancies and childbearing? Notes, Sources, and Links: 1. Contraception: An internal perspective, Population Council, March 2006, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16472559 2. Health Statistics: Contraception by Country, NationMaster.com, 2002, www.nationmaster.com/red/graph/hea_con-healthcontraception&b_printable=1 3. Reducing Risks by Offering Contraceptive Services, UNFPA, www.unfpa.org/public/home/mothers/pid/4382 4. Achieving the Millenium Development Goals, May 2006, found in www.unfpa.org/public/home/mothers/pid/4382 5. CNSNews.com, April 24, 2012 6. Reducing Risks by Offering Contraceptive Services, UNFPA, www.unfpa.org/public/home/mothers/pid/4382 7. UNFPA to Highlight Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Young Peole, especially girls, UNFPA Media Advisory, 8 November, 2013, www.unfpa.org/public/home/news/pid/15526 8. CNSNews.com, April 24, 2012 Other Sources: http://www.globalization101.org/the-battle-over-birth-control-for-developing-nations http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=18&compID=52