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UNFPA also aids governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in promoting sustainable development by raising awareness of population-related problems and mobilizing resources to address them. UNFPA's work is guided by the Program of Action or "Cairo Consensus" adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which was the first international document to recognize the interconnections among reproductive health, a sustainable environment and economic development. Since UNFPA was created in 1969, infant mortality rates and birth rates in developing countries have decreased by nearly 50%. UNFPA reports that 60% of married women today in developing countries use contraception, as compared with 10-15% when the organization was established. (1) In 1969, the U.S. led the international community in the creation of the UNFPA. But after decades of strong financial support, and despite the documented life-saving and important environmental work that UNFPA accomplishes throughout the world, U.S. commitment to this United Nations program has eroded. Congress allocates $34 million annually to UNFPA. However, the Bush Administration has withheld these funds every year since 2002, due to partisan politics, misinformation and anti-family planning members of Congress. According to the UNFPA, it is estimated that the loss of U.S. funding could undermine UNFPA's capacity to prevent 800,000 abortions and the deaths of 4,700 mothers and 77,000 children under the age of five per year. Decreasing our investment in family planning negatively impacts the environment and takes steps backward in improving the lives of women and children around the world. US support for UNFPA is critical, for our families, for our future and for the environment.
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