Updating Reproductive Health Legislation in West Africa
For more than a decade, Francophone countries in West Africa have been working to update their reproductive health laws. The French anti-contraceptive law, enacted in 1920 and still in effect after the independence of France's former colonies in Africa, banned advocacy for, knowledge of, or use of family planning methods. But given the health and economic benefits of family planning, a network of parliamentarians in West Africa began in the 1990s to develop a model law suitable for adaptation and adoption in the region. One of the most recent legal reforms has been in Togo, which approved a new reproductive health law in 2006. (April 2008)

Ensuring a Wide Range of Family Planning Choices
The use of contraception varies widely around the world, both in terms of total use and the types of methods used. In many countries, women and couples rely largely on one or two contraceptive methods, because of government policies, the way that national family planning programs have evolved, and cultural or social preferences. Understanding why people prefer some contraceptive methods over others can be useful for strengthening family planning programs. (April 2008)

Family Planning in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Mali
In West Africa, approximately 13 percent of married women use some form of family planning. Hormonal contraceptives, including the pill and injections, are the most commonly used methods. Traditional family planning methods, including periodic abstinence and withdrawal, are in second place.  (April 2008)

Family Planning Worldwide 2008 Data Sheet
The Population Reference Bureau's Family Planning Worldwide 2008 Data Sheet contains the latest estimates of lifetime births per woman and other key family planning indicators for more than 100 countries, including percent of women using both traditional and modern family planning, unmet need, and use of modern contraception by wealth group. Accompanying graphs illustrate trends in contraceptive use, projected increases in contraceptive needs, and the gap between desired vs. actual number of children, and the reasons women stop using the pill within one year of trying it. (March 2008)

Family Planning in West Africa
For many years, donors and governments focused attention on family planning in West Africa to both improve maternal and child health and enhance economic development. However, as fighting HIV/AIDS became a priority in the region, family planning received much less attention. (March 2008)

Family Planning Policies and the Poor in Peru
Over the past two decades, the government of Peru has instituted a series of laws and policies designed to expand access to family planning services. A recent article in International Family Planning Perspectives notes that in practice, these policies have not always achieved their desired effect. (March 2008)

PopWire: U.S. Abortion Rate Drops to New Low
The 2005 U.S. abortion rate was 19.4 per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, a 9 percent decline from 2000 and the lowest rate since 1974. The finding came from a survey of all known abortion providers in the United States. (January 2008)

Driving Up Demand for Health Services in Latin America
Millions of people live in poverty in Latin America, and many young people often face few prospects for a bright future. To combat the cycle of poverty, over the past decade governments throughout Latin America have adopted a new approach—conditional cash transfers (CCTs). This strategy offers poor households cash in return for fulfilling specific requirements related to health, education, and nutrition. (January 2008)

Pakistan Still Falls Short of Millennium Development Goals for Infant and Maternal Health
With continuing political turmoil, emergency rule declared, and concerns about how free and fair January elections will be, Pakistan has been under the spotlight recently. But the political arena isn’t the only area where challenges persist. Beneath the surface, more problems are brewing in the sixth most populous country in the world. Some of the challenges are fueled by the country's rapidly growing population, which is making increasing demands on social services, especially the health care system. (December 2007)

Addressing Population in Poverty Reduction Strategies (PDF: 221KB)
Poverty reduction strategies form the basis of World Bank and International Monetary Fund assistance in the poorest developing countries. The detailed guidelines, "poverty reduction strategy papers," are prepared in the host country and influence the investments made in most sectors of development. But because family planning is receiving less attention and dedicated funding since the advent of PRSPs, those who support continued investments in family planning need to understand PRSPs and stay engaged in order to ensure that funding for family planning is sustained. (November 2007)