Are We Meeting Global Contraceptive Needs?

In 2012, twenty national governments committed to investing more than U.S.$2 billion with the goal of meeting the contraceptive needs of 120 million women by 2020. To assess progress toward these goals in 68 of the poorest countries (“focus” countries), researchers analyzed core family planning indicators, including the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR).

Between 2012 and 2017, the number of women of reproductive age using modern contraception increased by 29 million in these focus countries. The average mCPR is now 46%, ranging from a low of 4% in Chad to a high of 77% in Nicaragua. Many countries have seen trends toward improvement in mCPR; however, since 2012, only Mozambique and Kenya have made significant improvements. During t…