World Contraception Day: Why Investing in Women and Girls Matters

This year, World Contraception Day comes at a pivotal moment: Global leaders are gathering in New York this week to agree on the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The world’s ability to achieve the SDGs will hinge on investments in the well-being of women and girls – especially by ensuring their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Supporting women’s access to a range of family planning options is key to these efforts. In addition to expanding access to existing family planning technologies, it is crucial to invest in research and development for new technologies.

Promising products in development include new multipurpose technologies designed to prevent two of the greatest threats to women’s health: HIV, which disproportionately strikes young women, and complications due to unintended pregnancy, which contribute significantly to maternal mortality and are magnified in women with HIV.

When women can plan and space their pregnancies and stay healthy, both they and their families can thrive. Strong women and families are the backbone of resilient and prosperous communities.

Protecting one’s health is a right no one should have to compromise on. Yet 225 million women in developing regions still have an unmet need for family planning methods.

As we celebrate World Contraception Day tomorrow, let us answer their call by expanding access to currently available methods as well as providing new tools that empower women to protect their health. By investing in the future of women and their families, we will move closer to a more sustainable world.

Read more about how investing in innovative technologies for women’s sexual and reproductive health can pay off for sustainable development.