NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, April 14, 2017

Every year, lack of access to contraception causes about 85 million unplanned pregnancies and a host of negative associated health outcomes. One expert said this global health crisis can be mitigated with apps that allow women to understand and track their fertility.

The challenge to provide universal contraceptive access is an old problem, but there are new challenges. A few were created by the Trump administration, which reinstated – and expanded – the Global Gag Rule, freezing government funding to many foreign NGOs providing family planning, maternal and child health, nutrition and other critical health services.

Earlier this month, Trump’s administration also decided to cut government funding to the U.N. Population Fund, which provides family planning, sexual and reproductive health assistance and other services to 9 million people in humanitarian settings.

Global family planning expert Leslie Heyer is one of many advocates who warns that the funding cuts will have devastating consequences for women and their families, especially in the developing world. When women don’t have the ability to plan their pregnancies, she said, they and their unborn babies suffer higher physical and mental health risks, higher risk of abuse, and lower education levels for themselves and for their children.