The Netherlands Contributes nearly $100 Million to Reproductive Health

UNITED NATIONS, New York—The Government of the Netherlands has recently announced a new contribution of 72 million euros (about $96 million) to help achieve the goals of the London Summit on Family Planning.

At the July Summit, the Dutch Government pledged its commitment to a global effort to provide an additional 120 million women in the world's poorest countries with access to life-saving family planning information, services and supplies by 2020.

"This generous contribution comes at a time when we are strongly positioned to accelerate access to family planning as a critical part of realizing people's right to universal access to reproductive health, including family planning," said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, which recently launched its annual State of World Population report emphasizing that family planning is a human right.

"Our report finds that the costs of ignoring the right to family planning include poverty, exclusion, poor health and gender inequality," Dr. Osotimehin added. The Netherlands' new Government has reaffirmed that sexual and reproductive health and rights remain one of the country's policy priorities.

The Netherland's Director General for International Cooperation, Rob Swartbol, who spoke on behalf of the Foreign Affairs Minister Lilianne Ploumen, reaffirmed that the country's new government maintains sexual and reproductive health a priority for international cooperation.

The Netherlands has long been a firm supporter of UNFPA and a firm believer in people's right to decide for themselves whether, when to have children, and to determine the size of their own families.

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