Understanding the global dynamics of continuing unmet need for family planning and unintended pregnancy

Abstract

1 Current status of unmet need for family planning Family planning is regarded as one of the major public health successes in the past 70 years. Worldwide, the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) for women of reproductive age rose from 28% in 1970 to 48% in 2019 and demand satisfied rose from 55 to 79% in the same time period (Haakenstad et al., 2022). Family planning offers both health and social benefits for women. It saves lives by preventing unintended, unwanted and unplanned pregnancies thereby reducing the need for abortions (that can often be unsafe and illegal) and also by reducing the probability of a woman's death because of causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. In 2022, use of contraception averted more than 141 million unintended pregnancies, 29 million unsafe abortions, and almost 150,000 maternal deaths (United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA], 2022a). A number of research studies have documented that women who have planned and adequately spaced pregnancies give birth to healthier children and evidence also shows that expanding contraceptive use can lead to improvements in women's agency and labour force participation. Universal access to family planning is a human right, central to gender equality and women's empowerment, and a key factor in reducing poverty and achieving the goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) (Prata et al., 2017).