Spotlight on HIV and Family Planning: After the Summit

By Julia Bunting, Director, Programme and Technical Division (IPPF Central Office)

The year 2012 saw the reinvigoration of a loud and visible global movement committed to achieving universal access to family planning, as part of a commitment to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services that put the rights and needs of clients at the very centre. This groundswell was catalyzed at the London Summit on Family Planning held in July 2012, which built on the foundations laid down by family planning pioneers more than half a century ago. The Summit called for political commitments, backed by increased resources, to enable an additional 120 million women and girls in the world’s poorest countries to access contraceptive information, services and supplies by 2020.

At the Summit, IPPF made an unprecedented commitment to treble the number of SRH services provided annually by our Member Associations – from a 2010 baseline of 89 million services. By offering a comprehensive and integrated package of rights-based services through the existing network of 64,000 clinics and community-based service delivery points, we estimate that our efforts will prevent 46.4 million unintended pregnancies and 12.4 million unsafe abortions by 2020. We also estimate that 54,000 deaths of some women and girls will also be averted during this period. In this renewed focus on family planning, as in all of our work, we will maintain a particular focus on services for poor and vulnerable women, men and young people.

At the Summit, IPPF also committed to develop a compendium of indicators on linkages between HIV and SRH including family planning, maternal and child health. A greater focus on integration, particularly of HIV and family planning services, provides an unparalleled opportunity to expand access to a wide range of SRH services. The rationale is indisputable: the majority of cases of HIV transmission are sexual or are associated with pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding; the risk of HIV transmission and acquisition can be increased by the presence of certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs); and HIV continues to be the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age.

It is vital that all women and girls have access to a full range of sexual and reproductive health options, including HIV services, family planning, contraceptive choices, and access to safe abortion services. Women living with HIV, who continue to face barriers accessing both family planning and programmes that prevent HIV transmission from mother to child, must remain at the centre of attention. Prioritizing the integration of family planning and HIV services will greatly contribute to achieving the sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.

References listed in the full issue of the IPPF HIV Update newsletter: http://ippf.org/resource/HIV-Update-April