United Nations Foundation Commits to Making the Goals of the London Summit on Family Planning a Reality

As partners from around the world join together in London to launch an ambitious effort to enable 120 million more women in developing countries access to voluntary, lifesaving family planning, information, and services by 2020, the United Nations Foundation reaffirms its commitment in support of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s innovative Every Woman Every Childmovement. This effort builds upon the Foundation’s long history of investment and work on adolescent girls and women’s health, including the Universal Access Project, to achieve universal access to reproductive health care – Millennium Development Goal 5 – which leads to healthier women, stronger families, and more stable, prosperous communities.

“Reproductive health issues cut across virtually all of our campaigns and initiatives,” said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the UN Foundation. “The London Summit — a global call to accelerate support for women and girls — builds upon the leadership and work of the United Nations Population Fund and the long-term support of the U.S. government to achieve universal access to reproductive health care and voluntary family planning. We call on all governments to prioritize this critical work moving forward.”

“We know that more than 220 million women around the world want, but do not have, access to modern contraception. By making a significant dent in this unmet need we’re not only saving the lives of women and children, but we’re also putting families on a path to a healthier, more sustainable and prosperous future. Voluntary family planning is one of the smartest investments that we can make” said Timothy E. Wirth.

To help make the goals of the London Summit on Family Planning a reality, the UN Foundation is proud to fulfill and accelerate its $400 million commitment made together with partners in 2010 in support of Every Woman Every Child to improve women’s and children’s health.  This includes:

• Strengthening U.S. leadership and investment in reproductive health through the Universal Access Project by unlocking new bilateral and multilateral resources to address the global unmet need for family planning by 2015.
• Enabling faster and more efficient procurement of health commodities with a priority focus on bridge financing for family planning commodities by scaling up the Pledge Guarantee for Health.
• Improving the lives of adolescent girls through investments in developing country programs focused on adolescent girls’ needs, including access to age-appropriate family planning education and services, and advocacy for budgets, policies and laws to protect their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• Promoting the voices of global leaders as well as new and influential voices to inform, engage, and ensure greater focus and attention to the issue of reproductive health.
• Through the mHealth Alliance and working with diverse partners, championing the use of mobile technologies to improve health throughout the world by sharing tools, knowledge, experience, and lessons learned across the diverse stakeholders in the mobile health community.
• Launching and co-leading the Reproductive Health pillar of the Millennium Development Goal Health Alliance to build partnerships that will leverage innovative mechanisms and strategic advocacy and also support ongoing efforts to promote voluntary family planning and access to reproductive health in developing countries.

In addition, the UN Foundation will lead the following activities to support the work of the London Summit on Family Planning:

• In order to unite partners and engage audiences outside of London, the UN Foundation is leading a global Twitter chat on July 11 from 8:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK government, USAID, Marie Stopes International, Nike Foundation, White Ribbon Alliance, Every Woman Every Child, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH).  Join the conversation by using the Twitter hash tag #FPChat.
• The UN Foundation, PMNCH, and the UN Secretary-General’s Innovation Working Group (IWG), in support of Every Woman Every Child and in partnership with the UK Government and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will host a parallel session on July 11 in London on the role of the private sector entitled “Private Enterprise for Public Health – Creating Shared Value and Collective Impact,” with special focus on reproductive health and family planning.
• The UN Foundation, in conjunction with the Aspen Institute, will launch “Why We Care,” a book which documents the stories of the Global Leaders Council on Reproductive Health – of which UN Foundation Chairman of the Board Ted Turner is a member –on July 11, along with a corresponding microsite: www.unfoundation.org/whywecare.

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About The United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.