Civil Society Declaration: Women’s human rights must be at the centre of the Family Planning Summit
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 5:48PM Over 320 organizations, groups and individuals from more than 80 countries have endorsed the call for the Family Planning Summit and its organizers—the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID)—to pay greater attention to women’s human rights.
“It is long past time world leaders came together to find solutions for the millions of women across the globe without real options and education when it comes to reproductive health and contraceptives,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO for the Center for Reproductive Rights. “This initiative is critical to that effort, but lasting solutions must improve the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services available to women, so they can make the best decisions possible about their health and their family’s health.”
More funding for family planning services was also welcomed by Françoise Girard, President of the International Women's Health Coalition . She warned however that it should not come “with targets and incentives for doctors to pressure women to ‘accept’ contraceptives. That formula leads to coercion of women, plain and simple.”
Rajat Khosla, policy coordinator for health at Amnesty International also emphasized that "Women’s rights to health, to life, and to live free from discrimination must be at the center of any discussions regarding family planning—a failure to do so can have serious consequences, "
While family planning , according to Gita Sen, executive committee member of DAWN “cannot be a silo provided by itself, but must be integrated into overall sexual and reproductive health services and with the utmost protection and promotion of women’s human rights”, Ximena Andion of RESURJ drew attention to the needs of sexually-active adolescent girls and young unmarried women to condoms and other contraceptives methods to protect their health and avoid unintended pregnancies.
The Family Planning Summit, which is scheduled to be held on July 11 in London, has a stated goal of giving an additional 120 million across the globe access to family planning information, services, and supplies by 2020.
The declaration with endorsements in English, Spanish and Portuguese
A press release that has just been put out by CRR, AI, IWHC, DAWN and RESURJ, in English and Spanish
A short document produced by CRR, 8 Key Points for the Family Planning Summit.