CARE applauds global community for standing by girls and women and urges the global community to honor commitments made at the summit

London, UK (July 11, 2012) – At the close of the London Summit on Family Planning, CARE International, one of the world’s leading humanitarian aid organisations, applauds the global community for standing by girls and women to ensure that they can decide if, when and how many children to bear.

CARE participated in the daylong summit where it was announced that more than 150 leaders from donor and developing countries, international agencies, civil society, foundations and the private sector raised the resources to deliver contraceptives to an additional 120 million women around the world by 2020.  Also at the summit, more than 20 developing countries made bold commitments to address the policy, financing and delivery barriers to women accessing contraceptive information, services and supplies. Donors also made new financial commitments to support these plans amounting to $2.6 billion.

“I was impressed that women’s rights and the voices of women were at the heart of our discussions at the summit,” says Christine Galavotti, CARE’s director of sexual and reproductive health, who attended the event. “Now we must channel the momentum of the summit, hold ourselves and others accountable, and take steps to provide contraceptives to the women who want it around the world.”

CARE released a report at the summit arguing that while additional resources are essential, any family planning strategy must have at its core women’s rights and empowerment and be linked to approaches that lead to greater effectiveness and sustainability. In addition to supplying the contraceptives, these include vital, yet often overlooked, strategies that involve: addressing pervasive and deeply ingrained gender and social norms that inhibit women and couples’ use of family planning services, strengthening systems of governance and accountability, and ensuring women’s reproductive health needs are met in development and emergency contexts where women are often more vulnerable yet have less options.

“CARE is committed to working with communities, governments and other partners to catalyze and support action at the local, national and global levels,” says Galavotti. “There is no time to lose. Too many girl's and women’s lives are at stake.”