Family Planning

What is it?

Family planning allows individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births. It is achieved through use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of involuntary infertility. A woman’s ability to space and limit her pregnancies has a direct impact on her health and well-being as well as on the outcome of each pregnancy.

(World Health Organization)

International Affairs and Treaties

International family planning and reproductive health and programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) population program and UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) provide health care choices that assist women in realizing their universal human rights.

U.S. support for desperately-needed programs in low and middle income countries, but since 1995, Congress has significantly reduced funds for international family planning, and increased restrictions on these crucial reproductive health programs. (Center for Reproductive Rights)

Botswana´s Position

Botswana by 2010 a total of 25 million people will be living with HIV/AIDS under a worst-case scenario but no major growth of the epidemic is anticipated.

Model parameters and initial values were set to reflect an equilibrium HIV/AIDS prevalence of about 30% of the sexually active adult population. (Bolletin of the WHO)

Proposal

Duvalls Model (1957) is the most popular and widely used method to prevent family planning disorders. The model consists of a family lifecycle defined in terms of eight developmental stages:

a)Married couple (without children), b) Childbearing families (oldest from birth to 30 months), c) Families with preschool children (oldest fromo 2.5 years to 6), d) Families with teenagers, e) Families that are launching, f) Middle year families, and g) Aging families

(The Science of Improving Lives)

Another valuable option is to re-enforce the Bomme Isago Association (BIA) which is a part of the International Women Health´s Coalition, and exists to improve the well-being of women and children living with HIV and AIDS. The BIA also aims at empowering women with knowledge that will enrich their lives and enable them to make informed decisions.

Some of the BIA´s Projects:

· Advocacy capacity trainings in order to foster WLWHA (Women Living with HIV/AIDS) leadership at the local and national level.

• Collaboration with the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA) to hold Reproductive Health and Rights workshops for positive mothers and women .


• Facilitation and convening meetings between BIA’s network and members of parliament (MPs) in Botswana

(International Women´s Health Coalition)