Submitted by Ryan Cherlin
Every year on 26 September, World Contraception Day draws attention to the importance of contraception and the role of the individual. This year’s World Contraception Day theme is “Take Responsibility”.
Choosing whether to use contraception is a deeply personal decision that each individual is responsible for making. USAID works with countries and communities to develop strategies that ensure every individual who wants to use contraceptives is able to receive them for family planning (FP), and HIV/AIDS prevention purposes.
Pakistani mother Mozamman holds her 2-year old twin sons Amanollah (R) and Samiollah (L) at her house in a poor neighborhood of Islamabad on July 21, 2010. Pakistan has the sixth largest population in the world. Photo Credit: Behrouz Mehri/AFP
Modern contraceptive methods offer tremendous benefits through improved health and economic well-being. They help ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, and subsequently reduce the number of abortions that result from unintended pregnancies, and also reduce the risk of spreading disease. Ensuring the availability of these commodities is a priority not only because of the health and economic benefits, but also because of changes in demographic trends and the increasing demand for family planning. To ensure that women and men can choose, obtain, and use the contraceptive method they want, programs must be responsive to the needs of each individual client. Our programs work to ensure there is a wide range of methods available to choose from that suit each individual’s unique needs and lifestyle.
Generally, I would agree that this is an important step in helping to alleviate unwanted pregnancies and disease. Though it may be implied in the article, I noticed that there was not as much of an emphasis put on education on the use of contraceptives as there was on the availability of contraceptives. If a contraceptive is used incorrectly it accomplishes neither of the objectives that USAID has identified. In fact, widespread and incorrect use of contraceptives may increase these problems, as individuals who believe that they are immune to consequences may tend toward more risky sexual behavior.
Please don’t misunderstand, I believe that contraceptives are absolutely vital to helping increase the standard of living and overall well-being individuals in third-world countries and impoverished nations, but I also know that education on the use of those contraceptives is just as important to the process once those contraceptives become widely available.