Dakar, 24 October -- African countries should re-position family planning as a priority health intervention because of its potential for helping to drastically reduce maternal infant and child deaths.

"Revitalized and appropriately repositioned family planning programmes will greatly improve reproductive health indicators in sub-Saharan Africa which is home to 10% of the world's women, but responsible for 40% of pregnancy-related deaths worldwide," Dr Therese Lesikel, the Regional Adviser for Reproductive Health Training in the WHO African Region, said in a presentation to the 2nd meeting of the Regional Reproductive Health Task Force taking place from 20-24 October in Dakar, Senegal.

She stated that although all countries in the African Region had family planning programmes, available data showed that felt and unmet needs for family planning in the Region remained high.

"For all sexually active women, the average prevalent rate for contraceptive use is only around 10%, and there is a high unmet need among all women of reproductive age, especially among adolescents who are at risk for both pregnancy and HIV infection," Dr Lesikel said.

WHO estimates that globally, 120 million women had unmet need for family planning, while 350 million lacked access to a full range of contraceptive methods. Family planning is regarded as a key intervention for quality reproductive health services and one of the most effective investments for helping to ensure the well being of women, children and communities.

For further information,

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