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.
