Thomson Reuters Foundation: The untold cost of cost-effectiveness in family planning
Laura Robson, manager for health-environment partnerships at Blue Ventures

“…With mounting pressure from policies introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump that cut funds for family planning programs worldwide, providers are being forced to deliver more with less. Such pressure often results in the prioritization of easily accessible urban populations at the expense of people living in remote rural areas. … [T]he experiences of health and environmental organizations working together in biodiversity hotspots across the world demonstrate that resourceful mechanisms do exist for reaching overlooked and under-served populations and advancing equitable access to contraception for the most marginalized women and girls. … Environmental organizations are inviting health agencies to piggyback onto their operational infrastructure and community relations, thereby enabling mobile service delivery and strong family planning uptake in areas previously deemed too difficult or expensive to reach. … [T]hese collaborative health-environment initiatives should serve as a courageous reminder for global health actors: it is possible to balance a drive for cost-effectiveness with a greater concern for contraceptive equity, and an appreciation of the wider value of investing in family planning for the most marginalized” (7/10).