26th September is World Contraception Day
CEL member John Moor writes:-
This is the day when we think of the 220 million women worldwide who have no access to modern family planning methods.
It is promoted by Baroness Tonge in the House of Lords who chairs a cross-party group of parliamentarians who have been lobbying for equal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare in the developing world for over 20 years.
She said,
“.. Allowing people in developing countries to choose when, where and how to have children is a fundamental right. It is crucial to the health and economic development of the world’s poorer nations and underpins women’s empowerment across the globe.”
I have no doubt that many of these women with no access to family planning live in Niger where the fertility rate (average number of children per woman) is seven. Currently people in Niger are suffering severe food shortages.
The population has risen from 4 million in 1970 to 16 million now. This rapid increase is an important cause of the famine.
How can CEL members help these unfortunate women?. The UK government Department for International Development (DFID) is currently running a programme to help mothers worldwide. It is called “Choices for Women Planned pregnancy, Safe Births, Healthy Newborns.” This programme needs our support against government cuts. I have written to my MP and asked him to support the programme.
John Moor
Editors Note:-
1. A good fact sheet on Costs and Benefits of Investing in Contraceptive Services in the Developing World
UNFPA website has more information.
A google search on World Contraception Day brings up a lot of positive articles written in different countries
See the article: Get a grip! Population growth impacts biodiversity by Jonathan Porritt in the Ecologist on 17 Sept.
CEL Web editors note:- I respect that some /most churches state that abstinence is a preferred way of limiting family size than contraception, if it is achievable. I am also aware that in some countries such as Sierra Leone and Niger, one in seven girls/women die in childbirth.
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