Need by the Numbers

By Amy Phillips Bursch, Media Relations Manager

The Guttmacher Institute – guru of all things reproductive health – has a new report out on the demand for contraception in the developing world – and the news isn’t all that peachy. Here are the numbers you need to know:

222 Million: The number of women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy but aren’t using modern contraception. That's not good.

56: The percentage of married women in Southeast Asia using modern contraception.

Less than 10: The percentage of married women in Western Africa using modern contraception. Yikes.

4 billion: The amount in dollars spent per year to provide the current level of contraceptive care in the developing world.

8.1 billion: The amount in dollars per year it would take to fully meet the need for contraception in the developing world.

11.3 billion: The amount in dollars per year an $8.1 billion annual investment in contraception would save. Family planning saves money, folks!

21 million: The number of unplanned births that would be avoided.

26 million: The number of abortions that would be avoided – including 16 million unsafe procedures.

79,000: The number of women whose lives would be saved.

Would doubling our investment in family planning funding be worth it? My sources say yes!