PRB

(March 2008) 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. Between 1996 and 2004, for example, a growing share of government family planning clients in Peru consisted of wealthier women. The share of government clients composed of women in the richest three-fifths of the population rose from 46 percent to 53 percent. And the percentage of clients that were from the poorest two-fifths dropped from 54 percent to 47 percent.

James N. Gribble, lead author of the article and director of the BRIDGE Project at the Population Reference Bureau, says the outcome is not surprising: “Policies aimed at promoting equity and serving the poor often ultimately benefit those who are better off, but not their intended target.”

Reference

James N. Gribble, Suneeta Sharma, and Elaine P. Menotti, “Family Planning Policies and Their Impacts on the Poor: Peru’s Experience,” International Family Planning Perspectives 33, no. 4 (2007): 176-81.