Donor funding for family planning: levels and trends between 2003 and 2013

Abstract

The International Conference on Population and Development in 1994 set targets for donor funding to support family planning programmes, and recent initiatives such as FP2020 have renewed focus on the need for adequate funding to rights-based family planning. Disbursements supporting family planning disaggregated by donor, recipient country and year are not available for recent years. We estimate international donor funding for family planning in 2003–13, the period covering the introduction of reproductive health targets to the Millennium Development Goals and up to the beginning of FP2020, and compare funding to unmet need for family planning in recipient countries. We used the dataset of donor disbursements to support reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health developed by the Countdown to 2015 based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Creditor Reporting System. We assessed levels and trends in disbursements supporting family planning in the period 2003–13 and compared this to unmet need for family planning. Between 2003 and 2013, disbursements supporting family planning rose from under $400 m prior to 2008 to $886 m in 2013. More than two thirds of disbursements came from the USA. There was substantial year-on-year variation in disbursement value to some recipient countries. Disbursements have become more concentrated among recipient countries with higher national levels of unmet need for family planning. Annual disbursements of donor funding supporting family planning are far short of projected and estimated levels necessary to address unmet need for family planning. The reimposition of the US Global Gag Rule will precipitate an even greater shortfall if other donors and recipient countries do not find substantial alternative sources of funding.

Social dimensions of fertility behavior and consumption patterns in the Anthropocene

“…Yet, family planning is a neglected feature of contemporary public policy. Currently, only about 0.6% of overseas development assistance is awarded to it (43). Moreover, developing countries relegate family planning expenditures to minor government departments.…”

Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Contraceptive Methods from a Health Provider Perspective: Case Study of Kiambu County Hospital, Kenya

“…Removing cost barriers among other investment was found to increase uptake of long-term methods 30 by youth and adolescents; which is a growing demography in almost all developing countries including Kenya. FP services in FP 2020 countries is heavily subsidized through vertical donor funded programs 46,47,60 . With declining donor funding, domestic sources of nancial resources would again be required to continue subsidizing FP services.…”

Family planning science and practice lessons from the 2018 International Conference on Family Planning

“…Key strategies to sustain FP advances include long-term financing for FP, particularly the transition from donor-dependent financing to locally owned initiatives. Donor funding to support FP continues to fall short of the amount needed to address the unmet need of family planning globally and the extent of this gap varies significantly across countries and regions 14 . To mitigate the impact of this shortage in donor funding, it is critical for countries to plan for shifts in financing options, including procurement financing for subsidized commodities.…”