UNFPA, The United Nations Population Fund Issue Summary
What is UNFPA?
UNFPA, the only multi-lateral agency of its kind worldwide, provides international leadership on reproductive health and population programs for the world's poorest countries and areas hit hardest by natural disasters and war (Cohen, 1999; PAI, 2003).
UNFPA's mission is based on the internationally accepted human right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1968).
UNFPA's work is guided by the Programme of Action — a blueprint adopted by 179 nations in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), for achieving universal access to family planning, reproductive, and sexual health care by 2015; universal access to primary education by 2015; and reductions in infant, child, and maternal mortality (UNFPA, 2005b; UNFPA, 2005c).
The U.S. and UNFPA: Inconsistent history of U.S. supportSince 1985, the United States has periodically withdrawn critical support for the agency in response to domestic conservative politics (PAI, 2003). The Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations first withheld funds based on spurious claims that UNFPA supported coercive family planning practices in China (Cohen, 1999) — even though withholding funds meant that all countries supported by UNFPA would be affected by this decision. While there have been legitimate concerns about human rights abuses in China, UNFPA's work there has been shown to promote voluntary programs (Maloney, 2004; U.S. Committee for UNFPA, 2005).
Funding was restored by President Clinton when he entered office in 1993; however, family planning opponents succeeded in cutting off funds again in 1999 (Cohen, 1999). Funds were resumed at a lower rate in 2000 and 2001, and since 2001 the United States has once again withheld its annual support for UNFPA (PAI, 2004).
George W. Bush and UNFPAIn 2001, the Bush administration included funds for UNFPA in its annual budget and publicly endorsed its work — only to reverse its position a year later by cutting off all funding for the agency. The announcement cited the "Kemp-Kasten" amendment, which dictates that the president must annually certify that UNFPA "does not support or participate in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization" (P.L. 99-88).
In May 2002 a White House team was dispatched to China to look for violations of the Kemp-Kasten amendment in the UNFPA program. The team found no violations and recommended release of the $34 million approved by Congress and withheld by the White House. This report was kept secret from the public for two months (Cohen, 2002). Despite these findings, which were verified by another investigative team from the United Kingdom, the Bush administration has refused to release the funds for the last four years (All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health, 2002; U.S. Department of State, 2002a, 2002b). To date, the total loss of U.S. funds for UNFPA is more than $130 million (PAI, 2005).
What are UNFPA funds used for?With funding from about 166 countries, UNFPA supports services to help people plan their families or avoid pregnancy, give birth safely, prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS, and combat discrimination against women (UNFPA, 2005a).
As a matter of policy and in accordance with the ICPD Programme of Action, UNFPA does not support abortion as a method of family planning and builds programs aimed at reducing the need for abortion (UNFPA, 1999).
What does the loss of U.S. funding amount to?The loss of U.S. funding has a tremendous negative effect on the lives of women, men, and young people in the world's poorest nations. UNFPA estimates that a $34 million loss will lead to two million unintended pregnancies, 800,000 induced abortions, 4,700 maternal deaths, and 77,000 infant and child deaths (U.S. Committee for UNFPA, 2005).
Additionally, loss of U.S. funding has a direct impact on services available. According to UNFPA
- One male condom costs two cents, and $2 will provide a couple with contraceptive protection for one year.
- $5 can provide one pregnant woman with quality antenatal care, and $10 can buy clean birthing kits for six women.
- One HIV test costs 80 cents, and it costs $12 for one person to go take part in a voluntary HIV testing and counseling program.
Clearly, a combined loss of $130 million in funding for UNFPA amounts to a staggering loss of services.
Why should the U.S. restore funding to UNFPA?
The loss of U.S. funding adversely affects UNFPA's programs and the people it serves. For many women living in some of the poorest, most remote regions of the world, or those areas most devastated by war or natural disaster, UNFPA is the primary source of funding for family planning and reproductive health information and services (PAI, 2003). Through support for UNFPA, the United States has an opportunity to save lives and promote healthier societies around the world. This document is a condensed version of UNFPA, The United Nations Population Fund: A Review of the Role of UNFPA in Promoting Reproductive Health Worldwide. www.plannedparenthood.org
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Cited References
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health. (2002, July 2). "China Mission Report by UK MP's 1st April - 9th April 2002."
Cohen, Susan A. (1999). "The United States and the United Nations Population Fund: A Rocky Relationship." The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, 2(1), 1-2 & 14.
Cohen, S. (2002). "Bush Bars UNFPA Funding, Bucking Recommendation of Its Own Investigators." The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, 5(4), 13.
Maloney, Carolyn. (2004, July 16, accessed 2005, July 19). Fact Sheet: UNFPA, the Bush Administration and China. Washington, DC: Office of Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY). [Online]. http://www.house.gov/maloney/press/108th/2004071604KempKasten.htm.
PAI - Population Action International. (2003, accessed 2005, July 19). Why the United States Should Restore Funding for UNFPA. [Online]. http://www.populationaction.org/ resources/ factsheets/factsheet_3.htm.
_____. (2004, December, accessed 2005, June 12). Trends in U.S. Population Assistance. [Online]. http://64.224.182.238/resources/data_and_graphs/USPopulationAssistance.htm.
_____. (2005, accessed 2006, May 25). Family Planning Funds Preserved: Congress Maintains Status Quo for U.S. International Population Assistance in FY 2006 Spending Bill. [Online].http://www.populationaction.org/news/views/ 2005/11_14_OpsUpdate.htm.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (1968, accessed 2005, July 27). Proclamation of Teheran. [Online]. http://www.unhcr.ch/html/menu3/b/b_tehern.htm
P.L. 99-88, 99th Congress (1985). A Bill Making Supplemental Appropriations For the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1985, and For Other Purposes. [Online]. http://thomas.loc. gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/R?d099:FLD002:@1(99+88).
UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund. (1999). Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Health and Family Planning. [Online]. http://www.unfpa.org/6billion/populationissues/rh.htm.
_____. (2004, August 27, accessed 2006, May 25). UNFPA Global Population Policy Update, Issue 39. [Online]. http://www.unfpa.org/parliamentarians/news/newsletters/issue39.htm.
_____. (2005a, accessed 2005, July 19). UNFPA Resources and Management. [Online]. http://www.unfpa.org/about/funding.htm.
_____. (2005b, June 28, accessed 2005, July 19). UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund. [Online]. http://www.unfpa.org/about/index.htm.
_____. (2005c, accessed 2005, June 16). Summary of the ICPD Programme of Action. [Online]. http://www.unfpa.org/icpd/summary.htm.
U.S. Committee for UNFPA. (2005, February, accessed 2005, July 19). Separating Myth from Reality: The Facts about the United Nations Population Fund. [Online]. http://www.uscommittee.org/myth.html.
United States Department of State. (2002a, July 22, accessed 2005, July 27). Daily Press Briefing (transcript). [Online]. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2002/12036.htm.
_____. (2002b, July 21). Letter from Secretary of State Colin Powell to Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate. [Online]. http://www.house.gov/maloney /issues/UNFPA/unfpadecision.pdf.
Published: 09.29.06 | Updated: 09.29.06
Published by International Division, Planned Parenthood® Federation of America
©2006 Planned Parenthood® Federation of America, Inc.
All rights reserved.
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