Family Planning: The Unmet Need

Family planning is the method of controlling the number of children in the family and spacing in between intervals of births either naturally or through the use of artificial contraceptives. There are said to be a number of methods or techniques that can be used towards this, however, the rise in the number of population, especially in poor countries is still high. This concern can also cause an impact on a woman’s reproductive health, and well-being. Unmet need for family planning refers to those of women who are fertile and sexually active but are not utilizing any method of contraception, and would also report that they do not want to conceive any more or want to delay the next child.



Unmet need is especially high among groups such as; adolescents, migrant, urban slum dwellers, refugees, and women in the post-partum period. ¹ Millions of women want to use effective and safe family planning, but are unable to do so because of the lack of knowledge, resources and the support from their husbands and communities.

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Family planning is a basic right.

Due to the demands for the need of family planning, it is already agreed upon by the international community as a basic human right. It is a basic right of all couples and individuals is to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education and means to do so. ² However, progress as to how to ensure this right has been a question. But then, without the access to relevant information and high quality services to this endeavor, it is quite impossible neither for such goal to attain nor for the said right to be exercised.

The unmet need remains high in the poorest parts of the world.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 25 per cent of women of reproductive age who are married or in a union have an unmet need for family planning. Also, four countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, eight countries in Asia and four countries in Oceania have an unmet need for family planning above 20 per cent according to the most recent data available. ³

There is no surprise to see a rich and well-off family having one or two children and a poor or below average family having more than three. This can be related to economic barriers in accessing certain services and supplies. Even though family planning is indeed considered to be a sound investment, it has seemed to be losing ground as an international priority. With programmes that are bound to educate and aid couples and women on the use of contraception and family planning, funding is decreasing while the gap between the need and the available resources is growing.

The United Nations’ recommended actions from Resolution 2009/1 of the Commission on Population and Development. ⁴ 

• Prioritize - Urge Governments and development partners to prioritize universal access to reproductive healthcare, including family planning. 
• Provide - Ensure that family planning programmes provide a wide range of safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods to all women, men and young people. 
• Fund - Increase financial commitments from donors for family planning to ensure predictable resources for reducing unmet need for family planning. Ensure that funding lines for family planning programmes and commodities are included in national budget formulations. 

Planning alone is ineffective without accompanying efficient actions. The need to control and space childbearing has its various health benefits that would not only bring about a strong reproductive health but would also contribute wellness to the family and the economy.

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1 WHO Unmet Need for Family Planning. www.who.int. Accessed August 10,2014^?
2 Population Facts No. 2013/6 December 2013 United Nations. Retrieved August 10, 2014.^?
3 Detailed data on unmet need for family planning, including information on data sources, are presented in the data sets World Contraceptive Use 2012 and 2013 Update for the MDG Database: Unmet Need for Family Planning, available from www.unpopulation.org.^?
4 United Nations (2009). Resolution 2009/1: The contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. Commission on Population and Development. E/CN.9/2009/10. Retrieved August 10, 2014^?

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