A Changing World

Rapid population growth, conflict, migration, urbanization, environmental degradation and declining fertility are megatrends and emerging issues that are reshaping entire communities and societies. As the world changes all around us, achieving universal access to family planning takes on new urgency.

Access to sexual and reproductive health, including family planning, is central to the ability of everyone, everywhere, to exercise their right to choice, bodily autonomy and agency. Half of all pregnancies are unintended – this is a human rights crisis. 

In humanitarian crises and other emergencies, women’s loss of access to contraceptives increases the risk of unintended pregnancy when they are at their most vulnerable. Inequalities, discrimination and systemic inequities compound the situation for marginalized groups and other individuals.

At the same time, we face challenges in institutionalizing and financing the sexual and reproductive health agenda, especially when it comes to integrating family planning and maternal health within universal health coverage. 

If current trends continue, the global community will simply not meet its commitment towards ending unmet need for family planning by 2030. Leadership, backed by a sharpened strategic focus and increased resources, is needed to turn the tide.

A Strategic Shift

As the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA recognizes the scale of the challenge — the need, opportunity and responsibility to expand choices and ensure rights amid this evolving landscape.

To accelerate progress towards 2030, we are drawing on lessons learned and shifting how we work in key ways: 

Building decisive leadership for family planning as the foundation of sexual and reproductive health and rights. This vision goes beyond contraception to encompass a range of sexual and reproductive health issues — including infertility — as well as moving beyond a health sector response to transforming social norms, and enacting laws and policies to enable all individuals to realize their reproductive intentions.

Breaking down silos to integrate family planning across all that UNFPA does. Repositioning family planning as a foundation of health, development, peace and economic growth, through innovation, use of evidence-based high impact practices, and responding to emerging needs.

Fostering a shift from the reliance of countries on external funding to sustainable financing, including supporting countries to invest domestic resources.

Revitalizing family planning programming to be effective and efficient, making UNFPA fit-for-purpose. This is about humanitarian actions, South-South cooperation catalytic ways of working and the Last Mile Assurance process.

Through the UNFPA Strategy for Family Planning, 2022—2030: Expanding Choices, Ensuring Rights in a Diverse and Changing World, UNFPA is intentionally and meaningfully shifting its technical approach at all levels to elevate its global leadership in family planning to meet the challenges ahead.

Purposeful Partnerships

The UNFPA Strategy for Family Planning, 2022–2030, serves as a timely call to action for the importance of family planning and its transformational power in a diverse and changing world.

Through this strategy, UNFPA presents a vision of what is needed to accelerate progress and energize commitments to country action everywhere. Yet it comes down to all of us to breathe life into it—purposeful partnerships are the cornerstone of the work ahead.

We call on partners to join us in collective action to fulfill our shared aspirations, address the unfinished agenda for sexual and reproductive health and rights and face the challenges ahead with unwavering conviction.

We must work together towards a shared vision of a world where every person is able to access quality family planning information and services delivered through approaches that empower women and girls, affirm individual human rights and leave no one behind.