Ensuring access for all people to their preferred contraceptive methods advances several human rights including the right to life and liberty, freedom of opinion and expression and the right to work and education, as well as bringing significant health and other benefits. Use of contraception prevents pregnancy-related health risks for women, especially for adolescent girls, and when births are separated by less than two years, the infant mortality rate is 45% higher than it is when births are 2-3 years apart and 60% higher than it is when births are four or more years apart. It offers a range of potential non-health benefits that encompass expanded education opportunities and empowerment for women, and sustainable population growth and economic development for countries.
The number of women desiring to use family planning has increased markedly over the past two decades, from 900 million in 2000 to nearly 1.1 billion in 2020. Consequently, the number of women using a modern contraceptive method increased from 663 million to 851 million and the contraceptive prevalence rate increased from 47.7 to 49.0 per cent. An additional 70 million women are projected to be added by 2030 as per WHO.