July 11th is World Population Day, an event established by The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989. According to the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), this annual event seeks to focus attention on the growing urgency and importance of population issues.

The world’s population is projected to reach seven billion in October 2011. This significant milestone – the World at Seven Billion – provides a special opportunity to remind the international community to address the need for family planning (FP) services in many developing countries.

Unintended pregnancies can lead to poor maternal and child health outcomes. FP use during the first year postpartum has the potential to significantly reduce at least some of these pregnancies.

FP has the potential to reduce maternal mortality by decreasing the number of at-risk pregnancies. As countries move from very low to higher contraceptive prevalence rates, at-risk births can be expected to drop by as much as 40% (Ross and Stover).

MCHIP works to advance the understanding of the role of FP by ensuring that desired pregnancies occur at the healthiest times of a woman’s life. The ultimate goal of MCHIP FP is to advance FP and maternal, newborn and child heath (MNCH) integration, thereby helping women delay, space and limit pregnancies. By ensuring that FP counseling and/or services are routinely provided as part of MNCH at both the community and facility levels—with a focus on women with children less than two years of age—MCHIP aims to achieve the best outcomes for women, infants and children.

Read more about MCHIP and FP.