Over 1.2 Million Unintended Pregnancies and Over 480,000Unsafe Abortions Prevented Since July 2017

KIGALI, RWANDA - Media OutReach - 13 November2018 - A groundbreaking international report shows the use of modern contraception on the rise in Nepal, preventing over1.2 million unintended pregnancies and 489,000 unsafe abortions between July2017 and July 2018.

The report shows Nepal is on track to achieveits goals for modern contraception use by 2020, as the Government boostsspending on family planning.  However,over one quarter of married women aged 15-49 in Nepal still have unmet need formodern contraception.

Beyond Nepal, the report shows more women andgirls than ever before are making the voluntary choice to use contraception inthe world's 69 lowest-income countries.

The report entitled FP2020: Catalyzing Collaboration has been produced by FamilyPlanning 2020 (FP2020) - a global partnership that supports the rights of womenand girls to freely decide whether, when, and how many children they want tohave.  The report for the first time everincludes new data on government spending on family planning in Nepal.  The report -- available electronically [progress.familyplanning2020.org]shows:

In Nepal:

• Domestic government spending onfamily planning of $2.2 million (2016)
• In Nepal, among women aged 15-49,an estimated 38.1% or 3.2 million are using a modern method of contraception in2018. This is 622,000 more than in 2012.
• The rate of modern contraceptiveuse among married women has increased to 49.1%.
• As a result of moderncontraceptive use between July 2017 and July 2018:

           ○    1,222,000 unintended pregnancieswere prevented

           ○    489,000 unsafe abortions wereaverted

           ○    1,600 maternal deaths were averted

• However, 27.6% of married womenaged 15-49 have an unmet need for a modern method of contraception.
• The Safe Motherhood andReproductive Health Rights Act has been enacted in 2018 to promote and protectreproductive health and rights. The law also includes a provision makingreproductive health care free of charge in public health facilities andemphasizes that services must be available to adolescents and disabledindividuals.
• Adolescent Friendly Services arebeing scaled up and health facility staff are trained in providing services inadolescent-friendly manner. 1134 adolescent-friendly sites in Nepal have beenestablished.

Globally:

• The number of women and girlsusing a modern method of contraception in the world's 69 poorest countries hadgrown to more than 317 million, as of July 2018.
• This is 46 million more users thanin 2012 (the year FP2020 was launched) -- an increase that is around 30% greaterthan the historic trend.

Executive Director of Family Planning 2020,Beth Schlachter said:

"Rights-basedfamily planning is a catalyst that unlocks the potential of girls and women inNepal and around the world. Our goal is to ensure that each one is able toexercise her basic rights to self-determination, health, dignity, andequality.  This is a core strategy forcountries to improve the health and well-being of their citizens and economy.

"Womenrepresent half the global population, and there can be no healthy populationglobally or in Nepal without reproductive health care.  As we continue to build the framework forUniversal Health Coverage (UHC), we must ensure access to full, free, voluntarycontraception is included for all women and girls.  As countries build UHC strategies,rights-based family planning and SRHR services must be integrated withinprimary health care systems." 

Interviews aboutthe report, and its significance in Nepal are available with the following individuals.  If you would like an in interview, or havewritten questions, please reach out directly by email.

A fact sheet withmore data specific to Nepal from the new report, as well as photo images youare welcome to use, can be found here [https://we.tl/t-N6t2UUf3Xs].If attribution is needed, please attribute to Family Planning 2020.

The report is being launched at theInternational Conference on Family Planning. Please follow and join in the conversation at:

Twitter: @FP2020Global

Facebook: /FamilyPlanning2020

YouTube:FP2020Global

More background on Nepal's recent activitiesand progress relating to family planning can be found at https://www.familyplanning2020.org/nepal.