World Development Report 1984

7 Family planning as a service
Some eighty-five countries in the developing who are often caught in a vicious circle in which
world, representing about 95 percent of its popula- too many children mean too few opportunities for
tion, now provide some form of public support to other kinds of activity, and vice versa. By enabling
family planning programs. Tremendous progress women to control their fertility, family planning
has been made in improving couples' access to frees them to become better educated and to
information and services. But in all countries more increase their own and their children's contribucould
be done. Nearly all programs still fail to tion to development.
reach most rural people; even in the towns and * Family planning offers the greatest potential
cities the quality of services is often poor and dis- benefits for the poorest people, whose mortality
continuation rates high. In many countries the and fertility rates are usually the highest of any
potential of the private sector to provide family group.
planning services has hardly been tapped; in oth- For all these reasons, programs to support family
ers the gap in services provided privately can be planning deserve a central role in the social and
filled only by enlarging public programs. Twenty- economic strategies of governments throughout
seven countries have yet to introduce family plan- the developing world. Properly designed, proning
programs. Almost half of these are in Africa, grams need not be particularly expensive. But lack
where incomes are the lowest in the world, population
growth is the highest, and the potential benefits
from family planning may be greatest.
of finance is one of the reasons family planning is
The benefits of family planning, moreover, TABLE 7.1
do not depend on the existence of demographic Percentage of currently married women aged 15 to
objectives. 49 using contraception, by region and for selected
* Family planning improves the health of moth- countries
ers and children. Both infant and maternal mortality
in developing countries could be substantially
Region and country Total Urban Rural
reduced if pregnancies were spaced at least two Sub-Saharan Africa (6)a
years apart, and if pregnancies among teenagers Ivory Coast (1980-81) 3 4 2
and women over forty were prevented (see Box
71) C l th to family lannin serv
7.1). wouples witn access to ramlly planmng serv-
Kenya (19 77-78 )b
Middle East and North Africa
Egypt (1980)
7
(22) a
24
12
40
6
12
ices can prevent unwanted pregnancies that might syria (1978) 20 34 5
otherwise result in poorly performed abortions East Asia (65) a
and the risk of serious, even fatal, complications. Philippines (1978) 36 47 31
Family planning services were recognized as one Thailand (1981) 57 64 55
of eight essential components of primary health Latin America and Caribbean (40) a
care by the International Conference on Primary Colombia (1980) 49 54 37
Health Care in Alma-Ata in 1978. Mexico (1979) 39 51 27
Family planning makes responsible parent- South Asia 419) ((9 36 17
hood easier. Parents can have the number of chil- Sri Lanka (1982) 55 57 54
dren for whom they know they can provide ade- Note: Numbers are based on recent surveys, except for India
quate food, health care, and education. and Indonesia, which are based on recent program statistics.
* Family planning enlarges the choices available a. Average weighted by population for all countries in region
to people, a central purpose of economic and social bw Ever-marred women aged 15 to 50.
development. This is particularly true for women, Source: World Development Indicators, Table 20.
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