The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Founded in 1969, UNFPA is the only multilateral agency dedicated to providing family planning and reproductive health care services. UNFPA works in 141 countries with the approval of the host government. For many women and men living in the poorest and most remote regions of the world, UNFPA is the only source of funding for family planning. Action areas include

• birth control supplies and education
• prenatal care
• obstetric care
• prevention and treatment of STDs, including HIV/AIDS
• ending violence against women
• expanding educational opportunities for people worldwide

UNFPA explicitly condemns any form of coercion. Its work is guided by the principles of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, an agreement that recognized that individual health, rights and well-being are at the heart of sustainable development (source: PPFA fact sheet).

The Bush Administration and UNFPA

President Bush has blocked $34 million in funding for birth control, maternal and child health care, and HIV/AIDS prevention from UNFPA. The pretext for defunding UNFPA is the assertion that the organization is complicit in coercive abortion policies in China, despite the fact that independent investigators — including a delegation hand-picked by the Bush administration — have found no involvement by UNFPA in coercive practices. Because of the critical nature of UNFPA’s work, loss of funding translates directly into loss of lives.

• Background on Bush and UNFPA

• Follow the news through Planned Parenthood’s international policy watch

• Check out UNFPA and learn more about international family planning issues at UNFPA’s website

  In This Section:

NAPPA: Our Partner

Snapshot of Namibia

Sexual Health in Namibia

Letters from Namibia

Namibian Scrap Book

US Policy & Global Health

AIDS in Africa

Global AIDS Fund

Inter. Family Planning

UNFPA

Global Gag Rule