Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

1
Achieving the Millennium Development Goals
The contribution of family planning
2
Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

• The contribution of family planning

Scott Moreland, Constella Futures Sandra Talbird,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
3
Countries Modeled
4
The number of women of reproductive age is large
and growing.
Source SPECTRUM 2.38 Projections
5
The number of pregnancies will continue to
increase each year.
Source SPECTRUM 2.38 Projections
6
A significant percentage of these pregnancies are
unintended or mistimed.
Total pregnancies
Nigeria 2003
Mali 2001
Source SPECTRUM 2.38 Projections
7
Many women want to space or limit their births
but do not use family planning.
Source DHS Users defined as married women of
reproductive age (MWRA) currently using
contraception Unmet need represents those who
want to use family planning but are not currently
doing so
8
Use of less effective, traditional contraceptive
methods is high.
Percentage distribution of users by type of
family planning method used
Source DHS, married women (Nigeria 2003, Mali
2001, Ghana 2003, Madagascar 2003/2004)
9
Meeting the unmet need for family planning will
increase the percentage of women using family
planning.
Source Nigeria DHS 2003, Mali DHS 2001, married
women
10
The number of women using family planning will
increase when unmet need is met.
Source SPECTRUM 2.38 Projections
11
Meeting the unmet need for family planning will
reduce unintended pregnancies
Source SPECTRUM 2.38 Projections
12
as well as reduce the number of abortions.
Source Henshaw et al., 1999, and SPECTRUM 2.38
Projections
13
and therefore reduce the number of unintended
births.
Source Calculated by authors based on unintended
pregnancies, abortions, and spontaneous abortions
14

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

15
Reducing unmet need for family planning can help
countries to meet the MDGs by reducing the cost
of achieving the goals.
Liz Gilbert, the David Lucile Packard Foundation
Chamberlain Diala, JHU/CCP
Chamberlain Diala, JHU/CCP
16
Focus on 5 Millennium Development Goals

• Achieve universal primary education
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability

17
Calculating savings in the costs of meeting the
MDGs due to increased contraceptive use

• Project the population with constant FP use and
  with unmet need fulfilled
• Calculate the costs of meeting the MDGs for each
  projection
• Compare the cost projections and calculate the
  difference

18
Contraceptive prevalence rate assumptions used to
calculate population scenarios
Source MEASURE DHS, Stat Compiler Represents
all women, not only married women
19
Unit costs applied to population projections for
each of the MDGs
20
Achieve universal primary education
Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys
and girls alike, will be able to complete the
course of primary schooling.
21
Millennium Development Goals and Targets
Source United Nations Statistics Division, 2000
22
Family planning use reduces the number of
school-aged children.
23
which reduces the costs of meeting the primary
education MDG.
35.8m
37.8m
Note Costs discounted by 3 percent
24
Reduce child mortality
Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the
under-five mortality rate.
25
Millennium Development Goals and Targets
Source United Nations Statistics Division, 2000
26
Fulfilling unmet need reduces the number of
children needing vaccinations.
27
Fulfilling unmet need generates cost savings by
reducing the costs of meeting the immunization
target.
13 m
52 m
Note Costs discounted by 3 percent
28
Fulfilling unmet need reduces the number of child
deaths by reducing the number of high-risk births.
Source Child Survival Model, John Stover,
Futures Group
29
Improve maternal mortality
Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015,
the maternal mortality ratio.
30
Millennium Development Goals and Targets
Source United Nations Statistics Division, 2000
31
Fulfilling unmet need can reduce the number of
births over the next 10 years.
32
Reducing the number of births generates savings
for maternal health costs.
39 m
127 m
Note Costs discounted by 3 percent
33
Fulfilling unmet need saves lives by reducing the
number of maternal deaths.
34
Ensure environmental sustainability
By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people
without sustainable access to safe drinking water
and sanitation.
35
Millennium Development Goals and Targets
Source United Nations Statistics Division, 2000
36
Fulfilling unmet need reduces the number of
people needing safe water and sanitation.
37
The costs of achieving the safe water and
sanitation goals are reduced by fulfilling unmet
need.
54 m
21 m
Note Costs discounted by 3 percent
38
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
By 2015, halt and begin to reverse the incidence
of malaria and other major diseases
39
Millennium Development Goals and Targets
Source United Nations Statistics Division, 2000
40
Fulfilling unmet need reduces the number of
mosquito nets needed to reach the Abuja target of
60 coverage.
41
Reducing the number of mosquito nets needed makes
reaching the Abuja target more affordable.
12.7m
4.2m
Note Costs discounted by 3 percent
42
Weighing the Benefits and Costs of Meeting the
MDGs by Fulfilling Unmet Need for Family Planning
43
The costs savings for the MDGs outweigh the costs
of reducing unmet need.
44
Fulfilling unmet need leads to health benefits as
well as cost savings.
45
In Conclusion

• Achieving the MDGs will be a major challenge.
• These goals will be easier and cheaper to achieve
  if contraceptive use increases as a result of
  fulfilling unmet need.
• The additional costs of reducing unmet need for
  family planning are offset by substantial MDG
  cost savings by 2015.

46
Meeting the unmet need for family planning in
Africa can help countries reach the MDGs.