By Bilkis Abdulraheem Lawal
Global health leaders, researchers, and policymakers are sounding the alarm over widening gaps in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), as new data unveiled at the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP 2025) reveal both progress and deepening inequality.
Held in Bogotá, Colombia, the four-day conference brought together more than 3,500 delegates from 120 countries, including ministers, scientists, and advocates working to improve access to modern contraception and reproductive health care.
New evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO), The Lancet, and the Guttmacher Institute shows that while investment in family planning saves lives and strengthens economies, funding cuts are threatening these gains.
According to Guttmacher’s analysis, over 70 percent of global family planning funding depends on a small group of donors, nearly 40 percent of which previously came from the United States. Donor contributions dropped 27 percent in 2023 to US$10.77 billion, representing just 4.3 percent of global aid, according to a report by DSW and the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights (EPF).
The Adding It Up and FP-Impact studies by Guttmacher found that meeting all reproductive health needs in developing countries would cost US$104 billion annually, but save US$2.48 in health costs for every US$1 spent. Contraceptive access, the reports noted, increases women’s chances of paid employment by up to 12 percent in countries like Nigeria and Kenya.
Experts at ICFP 2025 say the findings should drive stronger domestic investment and accountability. Hosted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Profamilia, the event serves as a call to action for governments to prioritise reproductive rights as part of the 2030 global development agenda.
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