USAID’s Population Assistance Program: Overview and Accomplishments

Since 1965, USAID has been the principal agency responsible for implementing the U.S. global population program, work that not only has improved the lives of millions of women and children, but is also recognized as vital to U.S. foreign policy interests. USAID’s comprehensive program finances voluntary family planning (FP) and related health services in more than 65 countries, delivering assistance through 95 bilateral and worldwide programs that contribute all the essential elements of an effective FP effort. These include service delivery, contraceptive supplies, training medical and health care providers and other personnel, information materials, strengthening management skills, policy support, and applied research.

The Goals of USAID’s Population Program:

To contribute to a global effort to stabilize world population growth and protect human health

The Objectives:

• To promote the rights of couples and individuals to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children by maximizing access to and improving the quality of FP, with special attention to the reproductive health (RH) needs of women and young adults
  
  
• To reduce population growth rates to levels consistent with sustainable development

USAID’s population program has been involved in all major innovations in international FP. The Agency is recognized for its leadership in the field.

• Since 1965, the use of modern FP methods in the developing world has more than quadrupled, from less than 10 percent to more than 40 percent. In the 28 countries with the largest USAID-sponsored programs, the average number of children per family has declined by more than one-third, from more than six to less than four.
  
  
• USAID’s program is unique because of the strong presence of technical staff in the field and its highly effective partnerships with a wide range of organizations, including U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), universities, and the private sector.
  
  
• USAID introduced innovative approaches to make FP services accessible to people in hard-to-reach areas. Included among them are door-to-door distribution, clinic-based services, employee-based programs, and more.
  
  
• USAID pioneered contraceptive social marketing. These programs privatize contraceptive distribution and marketing, using the commercial pharmaceutical sector to reach more people at less cost and thereby decreasing countries’ dependence on the donor community for supply and distribution of affordable commodities.
  
  
• USAID supports the world’s largest education programs that use in-country media and local entertainment outlets, performers, and groups to educate millions of people about contraception, child care, and health.
  
  
• USAID created and standardized the largest repository of fertility and family health information, Demographic and Health Surveys, which is used by policymakers and program managers in developing countries and the donor community to assess impacts and make informed decisions about program design and management.
  
  
• USAID is a world leader in developing new and improved contraceptive methods and supports research to improve existing contraceptive technology. These innovations provide couples in developing countries with superior methods of FP. Americans also profit from USAID-supported improvements, such as the introduction of low-dose oral contraceptives and the female condom.
  
  
• USAID has consistently given high priority to providing contraceptive supplies and related assistance in logistics and quality assurance. USAID provides 50 – 70 percent of all contraceptive assistance and nearly all logistics management assistance.

USAID Population Assistance Is Provided Through:

• Bilateral and regional programs carried out by USAID field Missions in Africa, Asia and the Near East, Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
  
  
• Worldwide projects through cooperative agreements and contracts with U.S. Government and private agencies in support of field programs. This assistance draws on a wide range of expertise and supports and complements the activities of USAID field Missions. Eighty-five percent of recipients of this funding are NGOs.
  
  
• Multilateral assistance through support to the World Health Organization. The State Department provides funds for FP programs to the United Nations Population Fund.
  
  
• Coordination with other donors and recipient countries. For example, the U.S.-Japan Common Agenda has led to a commitment by the Japanese Government of $3 billion for population and HIV/AIDS activities. Developing-country governments and citizens have now assumed 80 percent of the costs of national FP programs.

USAID’s Population Program Benefits Americans

• Promotes a peaceful future and a sustainable global environment. Investment in FP programs lessens the long-term consequences of poverty, environmental degradation, and resource scarcity, and decreases the risk of sociopolitical breakdowns and humanitarian crises. Many countries that invest in FP programs to improve the lives of their citizens join these programs with investments in education and other programs that promote human capital.
  
  
• Builds trading partners overseas. Early U.S. investments in FP have paid off in many countries that either are now strong trading partners of the United States, such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, or that are strategically important, such as Egypt and Indonesia. The United States now exports more to South Korea in one year than the total level of U.S. assistance ever provided.
  
  
• Creates jobs and products at home. The USAID population program has promoted the development of safe, effective contraceptive technologies in the United States, accounting for thousands of research, development, and manufacturing jobs, and has made these improved contraceptives available to American couples.

Prepared November 2006